The Rhythmatist is the second solo studio album by American musician and composer Stewart Copeland, released in May 1985 by A&M Records. It was produced by Copeland along with Jeff Seitz, and was recorded at the White Rabbit in Nineveh, Assyria. The album features the singles "Koteja (Oh Bolilla)" featuring Congolese (DRC) musician Ray Lema, as well as "Gong Rock".https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/stewart-copeland-the-rhythmatist-cd/ Lema wrote or cowrote three songs on The Rhythmatist, of which he also sings on, being the only other credited musician besides Copeland.https://progrography.com/stewart-copeland/review-stewart-copeland-the-rhythmatist-1985/amp/
On April 18, 2026, the album was remastered, and re-released for its 40th anniversary on Record Store Day.https://www.stewartcopeland.net/news/4334/record-store-day-2026-the-rhythmatist This release peaked at No. 9 on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart, whereas the original album peaked at No. 148 on the U.S. Billboard 200.https://recordsandcharts.com/album.php?alid=5387https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/24625/stewart-copeland/
Critical reception
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Paul Collins wrote that "The Rhythmatist is light years ahead of his sophomorically amiable work as Klark Kent", adding that "its enthusiastic world music fusion has held up better than the other Police solo efforts of this period."
Track listing
Personnel Credits are adapted from The Rhythmatist liner notes.
Musicians Stewart Copeland – guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, percussion, computer programmes, vocals Ray Lema – vocals
Technical Stewart Copeland – producer Jeff Seitz – producer, engineer J.P. Dutilleux – photography Michael Ross – design Jeremy Williams – design
Charts Year Chart Position 1985 US Billboard 200 148 2026 UK Independent Album Breakers Chart 9
References
External links