Vintage 1980s reggae with a twist of electronica and experimentation forms the bedrock of Arabusta Records, an imprint based in Milan, Italy, and founded by Oliver Carmi in 2021. “I have a background in architecture, but the idea of working with music was something that was always with me”, explains Oliver, who continues to run the label by himself.

He took advantage of the global pause during the COVID-19 pandemic to throw himself headlong into his fantasy venture. It began with one specific project: the 1984 album Já Bô Corre D’Mim by Cape Verdean artist Tchiss Lopes. “I was a fan of Tchiss’ music,” says Oliver, “I thought, well, at least I’ll try with this dream record. And if it happens with this, then there’s a chance that things can go on. So, I reached out to tell him that I would love to reissue his music and put it back into the world.”

Tracking Lopes down was a lengthy process, but Oliver eventually engineered the meeting which led to him achieving his goal. “It was love at first sight,” he says, “he has an incredible story: he went on a cargo ship, and he travelled the world – Northern Europe, Brazil, Africa, all over the place – always with his guitar. And he actually composed his songs on the boat.” As well as putting out further albums by Lopes, Arabusta has gone on to release strikingly soulful reggae music by Jamaican artists Horace Martin and Paketo Wilson, and has continued the Cape Verde love with albums featuring Elísio Gomes.

Setting up the label proved a steep learning curve. “There’s the human side,” muses Oliver, “the artistic side, the legal side, the manufacturing side. It’s a fascinating world, and it gives a lot of satisfaction when things are done well.” It’s the human side that stands foremost. “What actually makes me the happiest,” Oliver affirms, “is getting in touch with the artist. These are records that have so much potential, that are incredibly crafted, but for a series of circumstances maybe didn’t get the recognition they deserved at the time of release.”

As always, getting the music heard is the biggest challenge. “What I’ve done through these last years,” says Oliver, “is to establish a network of direct relationships with record stores and distributors worldwide, but all our productions are relatively limited, and not all of them have physical releases. We have a top-notch engineer who does all our audio restoration and remastering; her name is Jessica Thompson. And then we have the graphic aspect of digitising, restoring and reprinting.” This dedication goes beyond sound, as Oliver explains: “We spend time and interview the artists to collect their story, the story behind the album. [We] collect photographs and archive images, and also [have] lyrics, in Portuguese, Creole, French and English. Our royalty splits are very generous towards the artist. I always see Arabusta as a cultural rather than financial investment.”

Essential records

Tchiss Lopes

Stranger Já Catem Traboi

Tchiss Lopes’ debut jumps and swirls with deep grooves, flowing rhythms and a celebratory spirit.

Horace Martin

You’ve Changed

Old school meets 80s electronica on this sublime set of pulsating songs. Martin’s silky, soulful vocals mesmerise on every track.

Paketo Wilson

Big Iron

Jamaican Paketo Wilson transforms Marty Robbins’ classic Old West number into a dubby, trippy, retro, space-aged marvel.