Remembering Rob Reindorf

Remembering Rob Reindorf opens this commemorative article about Robert Roy “Rob” Reindorf, a Ghanaian musician born in Accra in 1949. He released two funk albums, Rob and Make It Fast, Make It Slow, and he studied piano as a boy in Ghana rather than receiving musical training in Benin. His influences included Otis Redding–inspired soul and the horn-driven energy of the Mag-2 Army Band. He had an uncle, King Bruce, who was a prominent Ghanaian musician, though Rob said they were not close.

The two albums were initially commercial flops in the late 1970s West African highlife-driven market, but they were later reissued by Analog Africa and Soundway. The eponymous track from his second album gained attention among crate diggers in Europe and America who began to play and edit it, and that attention contributed to a rise in the track’s Discogs price to two and a half grand (approximately $2,500). Rob moved away from the music industry for several decades following those early releases.

He played with Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou and the Mag-2 Army Band during his career, and he returned to live performance in Warsaw at the Pardon and To Tu venues shortly before a show. He had just turned 70 at the time of the interview referenced in the piece. The Quietus published the article that this introduction summarises.

Rob Reindorf was born in Accra, Ghana, in 1949. He studied piano as a boy in Ghana and developed an early musical background shaped by soul and horn-driven arrangements. Producers later attributed his musical education to Benin in liner notes for reissues, a claim that Reindorf explicitly disputed in interview material. The mistaken attribution in the reissue notes and the details of his childhood schooling form part of the documented record of his early life.

“That’s not true. I was born and brought up in Ghana and at the age of three my dad sent me to Benin to a Roman Catholic school where I completed my junior education and then came back to Ghana to enter senior high school. I never learnt music in Benin; it’s a mistake that the record producers made when they wrote the liner notes for the reissues – possibly because they thought that French musical education was a part of my upbringing.”

“We were never close enough that I could inherit any musical background from him.”

Rob Reindorf released two funk albums, Rob and Make It Fast, Make It Slow, during the late 1970s. Those albums entered a West African market that was driven by highlife at the time and were commercial flops on initial release. Both records were later reissued by the labels Analog Africa and Soundway, which brought the recordings back into circulation decades after their original appearance. The eponymous track from Make It Fast, Make It Slow attracted attention from crate diggers in Europe and America, who began to play and edit the recording for new audiences. The track’s price on Discogs increased to two and a half grand (approximately $2,500).

After the original releases, Reindorf moved away from the music industry for several decades. European and American DJs and collectors played and edited the eponymous second-album track as part of that renewed interest. The reissue activity by Analog Africa and Soundway followed the period of renewed attention from collectors and DJs. Reindorf returned to live performance in Warsaw at the Pardon and To Tu venues shortly before a show. He had just turned 70 at the time of the interview referenced in the article.

Influences and band associations

Rob Reindorf identified Otis Redding–inspired soul and the horn-driven energy of the Mag-2 Army Band as influences on his musical approach, and those influences are linked to the sound he recorded on his two funk albums. He performed with both the Mag-2 Army Band and Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou during his career, and those playing associations are noted in the interview and profile. The combination of soul and horn-driven arrangements is presented as part of his stylistic background in the documented account of his work.

Rob addressed his familial musical connection and his own musical path in interview remarks, stating: “No. I had an uncle who was a musician; his name was King Bruce and he was one of the top musicians in Ghana at the time but I never acquainted myself with him. We were never close enough that I could inherit any musical background from him. I didn’t look up to my uncle, and I’ve made my own destiny with my own music.” These statements are included in the written profile and reflect his view on influence and lineage within his musical biography.

Rob Reindorf took a substantial break from the music industry for several decades after his early releases in the late 1970s. His music, however, gained renewed interest over time, particularly through the attention of European and American DJs and crate diggers who explored and edited his work. This renewed attention eventually led to the reissues of his albums by Analog Africa and Soundway.

Rob made his return to live performance in Warsaw at the Pardon and To Tu venues, shortly before a scheduled show. This comeback occurred when he was 70 years old, as established by the interview data regarding his age at the time. The article that included this information was published by The Quietus.

CONCLUSION

This conclusion restates that the article presents the factual record compiled above about Rob Reindorf. It does not introduce claims beyond the documented material included earlier. The preceding sections present only statements and details as they were reported in the documented material. No interpretive commentary or unverified assertions have been added in this conclusion.

Where the subject provided direct statements in the documented material, those quotations are reproduced in the earlier sections rather than paraphrased into new claims. This conclusion does not add new events, dates, or numerical values beyond those already stated above. Readers seeking additional factual detail should consult the original published material referenced elsewhere in the article. No information has been introduced here that was not present in the documented material included earlier.