Burnis Light My Fire

Search the name ‘Burnis Moleme' and the returns are sparse. You’ll discover that his track ‘Where Is The Answer’ appeared on Soundway’s excellent Nigerian disco compilation, Doin’ It In Lagos. And there are a few entries about this PMG re-issue of Light My Fire. But other than that, he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. He’s not even a minister of religion, the career path most Nigerian stars from the 80s chose to follow. Thankfully, we still have Light My Fire. Produced by former Funkee Jake Sollo and backed by a hot team of session musos including Friday Pozo, Nkono Teles and Joseph ‘Jojo’ Kuo, Burnis delivered a slab of slick Afro Disco Boogie for the ages. ‘Boju Boju’ and ‘Where Is The Answer’ would start a party on any dance floor, while the title track would keep you on it until dawn. Burnis had a sensitive side too, showcased on tracks like ‘Scott Angel’ and ‘No Place To Hide’. I suspect Burnis Moleme was simply a casualty of the Nigerian label wars between EMI, Phondisk and Tabansi in the early 80’s. Tabansi hoped that Burnis might be the next Kris Okotie, but Felix Liberty took that mantle instead. But that does take away from what ‘Light My Fire’ is – a beautifully produced slice of Nigerian disco boogie by a guy who could write catchy songs, sing like a sex god and look good in a shiny purple suit. - Peter Moore