Sometimes projects are so adventurous and genre-bending that they escape the wide acclaim they are owed. These hidden gems are the delight of crate-diggers, self-congratulating music nerds that reject the mainstream, and earnest listeners alike, but are often not appreciated in their own time.
Saâda Bonaire is one such case, and a particularly extraordinary one at that.
Photo: Ralph “von” Richthoven (1983), via Saâda Bonaire’s official website.
Like many conceptual artists, Saada Bonaire’s music is hard to classify. They deftly weave genres like synth-pop, wave, reggae, funk, and groove together, interlaced with Arabesque, Carribean, and Oriental inflections to create sonic tapestries that both befuddle and inspire. Sexy German-accented-English vocals huskily tempt the ears with their lyrics championing vague but tangible feminist prose.
Saâda Bonaire was formed when fate brought German vocalists Stephanie Lange and Claudia Hossfield together during a recording session in Bremen in the early 1980’s. With their similar backgrounds in fashion, and interests in photography and poetry, the two set out on an effort to create a feminist pop art-concept project that defied all norms. The duo brought on their friend and acclaimed DJ Ralph “Von” Richthoven, who had a foot in the door of every recording studio in Bremen, to produce their music. He is referenced retrospectively on their autobiographical website as “the perfect catalyst” to realize their bold vision. Being as well connected as he was, Richthoven kept a steady stream of musicians from all walks of life coming into their recording sessions, the first of which taking place in the autumn months of 1983.
After compiling a solid collection of tracks, the recordings were taken to label EMI at the famed Soundstudio N, where they were received positively. The label was pleased by the beautiful looks and sultry lyrics coming from Stephanie and Claudia, with the intentionally stylistically chaotic music at the core of the project taking a back seat in the eyes of EMI. Saâda were simply too ahead of their time, especially to these narrow-minded music critics, which left sex appeal as their main draw.
Unfortunately, the cause for celebration was short-lived, as internal issues within the A&R department at EMI led to the project being cancelled before ever hitting the shelves. Only one single track made it to the market in 1984, the dancefloor hit “You Could Be More As You Are”. The rest was lost to obscurity for nearly three decades, only to finally see the light of day in 2013, when Captured Tracks released the self-titled double LP containing the rest of the 80’s tracks.
Despite it seeming like things had come to a stand-still for the group after the 2013 release, a massive discovery in an East-Berlin cellar put them back on the radar.
It turns out, Saâda Bonaire had conceived another project in the early years of the 90’s that even the members of the band themselves forgot about. Richtoven began collaborating with a Mike Ellington in 1988, who had built a recording studio in the Paris catacombs directly under his father’s sex shop. There the group recorded a second batch of tapes, which slightly differed stylistically from their first sessions thanks to the addition of the amazing vocalist Andrea Ebert, moving between trip-hop and soul-funk while certainly still capturing the beautifully chaotic treatise at the core of the project’s philosophy. Had it not been for the suitcase of lost tapes that was uncovered when Ebert decided to sort through her cluttered cellar (that surprisingly remained in pristine condition despite being stored in such a damp environment), Saâda Bonaire would have been left with a single-project discography.
Saâda Bonaire had a second chapter of their story to publish. In 2022, Captured Tracks released 1992, another full length compilation of the band’s newly discovered tracks. It was received with high praise by the public. Thirty years after the tracks were recorded, people are finally able to enjoy the mystifying and enchanting sound that had laid dormant for far too long.
Photo: Peter Schmidt (1983), via Saâda Bonaire’s official website.
Although their story may finally be over, Saâda’s fanbase has only just begun to grow. Listeners are slowly catching wind to their music, warming up to the tunes they labored over decades ago. The fact that their work almost never saw the light of day makes it all the more fun to listen to, like you are being let in on a beautiful secret. It’s a spectacle, and I feel lucky to be able to enjoy it, considering the numerous obstacles that got in the way over the course of Saâda Bonaire’s production.
I’ll close this article off with a short reflective piece that came to me when I was listening to their sophomore release, 1992 –
As I write this from the blufftops of Westchester in Los Angeles, watching a pink streaked sky fade to black over the Pacific Ocean, I listen to Saâda Bonaire with the knowledge that I am enjoying a rare phenomenon, a testament to the experimental. Here I am, contemplating their creative choices in a city famed for its creative scene, where hidden gems tend to remain hidden and industry plants shine brighter than ever. Their style cuts through genre boundaries with precision, much like the winds of October that are cutting through my lightweight Columbia jacket. I shiver, not from the cold, but from the excitement of beholding such a rarity.
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