Blo - Chapters and Phases: The Complete Albums 1973-1975 (2009)

«Blo fused the Afrobeat rhythms of their native Nigeria with the mind-expanding psychedelia and funk of late-'60s Western rock to forge a wholly original sound embracing the full spectrum of black music. The roots of the group lay in the Clusters, already one of the most popular Nigerian highlife acts of the mid-'60s even prior to a stint as the support band for the Sierra Leonean pop superstar Geraldo Pino, once dubbed "the West African James Brown." In 1970, guitarist Berkely "Ike" Jones, bassist Mike "Gbenga" Odumosu, and drummer Laolu "Akins" Akintobi left the Clusters to join Afrocollection with twin sisters Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu (featured a decade later on the British television show The Tube), moving away from their highlife roots to explore a more pronounced Afro-Rock approach. While performing at the Lagos club Batakuto, Afrocollection jammed with Ginger Baker, the renowned drummer from the British blues-rock supergroup Cream; in late 1971, the members of Afrocollection joined Baker in forming the jazz-rock ensemble Salt, making their live debut the following year alongside the legendary Fela Kuti.

Despite a series of well-received live appearances throughout Western Europe and North America, the Salt project proved short-lived, and in late 1972, Jones, Odumosu, and Akintobi formed Blo, touring relentlessly in the months to come, prior to recording their EMI Nigeria label debut Blo: Chapter One. Drawing equally on the pioneering Afrobeat of Fela and Tony Allen as well as the American psych-rock of bands like the Grateful Dead and the Byrds, the record failed to live up to EMI's commercial expectations, and after signing to Afrodisia, Blo resurfaced in 1975 with Phase 2, pushing further into funk and R&B territory. Grand Funk Railroad and the Isley Brothers were the primary influences on the trio's third LP, Phase 3, but as lackluster sales continued to dog the group, Blo faced greater corporate pressure to reflect contemporary musical trends – specifically, disco, a shift culminating with 1980's Bulky Backside, recorded in London. Blo dissolved following the 1982 release of Back in Time.» (AMG)

«One of the hippest groups of the Nigerian scene of the 70s – presented here in two classic albums, back to back on a single CD! Chapter One is a landmark set of African grooves – very unusual in both conception and execution – with a feel that's unlike anything we can think of! There's definitely a rock influence in the set, but the music isn't rock at all – it's a very dark, almost dubby groove at points – and a bit more straightforwardly funk at others – almost a post-colonial style that clearly comes from a London influence, given to the group by a previous association with Ginger Baker. Rhythms are quite tight, and the bass is as strong as the drums – mixed up nicely with riffing guitar, and moody vocals that color the whole thing nicely. […]. Phase II is a critical next step for the group – music that's even deeper than before, but a bit funkier too! There's clearly some touches here of other African funk of the time – especially in the way the guitar parts groove with the rhythms – although those heavy Blo basslines from before are still nicely in place, as are some of the fuzzier production elements too.» (Dusty Groove America)

Check also RPM Records’ Blo page.

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Vampisoul goes to Africa: AfroBeat Nirvana (2008)

«In this specially priced compilation, you'll find a variety of Nigerian Sounds from the late 50's to the 80's and showcases some of the finest artists including Tony Allen, Orlando Julius and of course Fela Kuti. Mixing jazz, soul, rock, psychedelia and more with traditional African sounds and rhythms, the music that emanates from this fine collection is a testament to the rich, modern musical history of Nigeria. All of these songs come from current or upcoming releases on Vampi-Soul's huge West African Re-issue project but this CD, in itself, is a great introduction to the music that has come to be termed "Afrobeat". The full list of artists include Bola Johnson, Fela-Ransome Kuti, Opotopo, Tony Allen with Africa 70, Olando Julius & Afrosounders, Godwin Omobuwa, Fred Fisher Atolobor.» (Amazon)

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Ayo - Joyful (2006)

«Folk-soul chanteuse Ayo [her name means "joy" in Nigerian Yoruba] emerged as one of Europe's biggest new pop stars of 2006 with her breakthrough debut LP, Joyful. Born to a Nigerian father and Romanian gypsy mother in Cologne, West Germany, on September 14, 1980, as a child Ayo absorbed the musical traditions of her parentage as well as influences including American soul, reggae, and Afrobeat, all staples of her father's extensive record collection. Ayo first studied violin before moving to piano and guitar. At 21 she relocated to London, later dividing her time between Paris and New York City and earning attention while opening for neo-soul kindred spirits including Omar and Cody Chestnutt. After recording a five-song demo reel, Ayo briefly receded from the live circuit in late 2005 to give birth to her first child. Early the following year she signed to Polydor, and with producer Jay Newland completed Joyful (the English translation of her Yoruba name) in just five days. Buoyed by the lead single "Down on My Knees," the album fell just shy of the German Top Ten.» (AMG)

«Joyful was produced by Grammy award-winner Jay Newland and recorded in New York City in five days flat, under studio-live conditions. This created a relaxed yet urgently charged ambience that underpins the ebb and flow of all 12 tracks. Musically, the tunes incorporate diverse quotes from a polyglot life, such as accordion-laced French bal musette, slouchy Afro-Euro reggae, quietly down-and-dirty R & B-influenced organ riffs, Beatles-eque piano chords, plus subtle strings and over all, a moodily suave acoustic guitar. Ayo's girlishly light but spot-on vocals are sung primarily in English with occasional touches of Nigerian pigeon. She speaks of sexual passion hopeless and fulfilled, family, friendships, and philosophical observations both grim and optimistic; these are young songs from an old soul.» (Christina Roden, Amazon)

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Abdul Raheem - Che-Che (1995)

Abdul Raheem is an international famous jazz musician from Ghana. He played together with Osibisa from 1984 to 1987. Now, he’s living and working in London.

«In the early eighties Afro-Funk came to Europe, especially with the group Osibisa, where Abdul Raheem was the singer and trombonist. Already before, he gained not unessential experiences in which he professionally involved in his Black African heritage from Ghana and Nigeria. After separation from Osibisa, he returned to these roots which led to an album of essential dance music (Che-Che), fusing traditional African fire with the modern techniques of Jazz. Pure West African highlife.» (AI Records)

«Since the release of his seminal solo album Tayaman (aka Che-Che, Abrefi Records) in 1995, Abdul Raheem has achieved international critical acclaim, featuring Ray Allan on saxophone and the explosive Cloude Deppa (also an Andy Sheppard sideman) on trumpet, tracks from the album have received worldwide radio airplay. Tayamam was the album, and since then they have been performing all over Britain. Recent gigs have included St Paul’s Carnival in Bristol and the Cardiff Bute Town Festival.

Born in Ghana to Nigerian parents, Abdul Raheem began composing songs at the age of seven. In his teens he sung with the Comets whose leader, Teddy Osie, encouraged him to take up the trombone. His career moved between Ghana, where he played the jazz kings and his influential Inkspot; Nigeria, where he shared a residency with the legendary Fela Kuti; and Ivory Coast, where he played alongside Cuba’s El Gran Pachico and Zaire’s OK Jazz.

In 1977, he met Osibisa at the second All Black Festival of Art and Culture in Lagos, and eventually joined them in London in 1984, following a spell with the Hi-life Stars.

Although still steeped in the Afro-Funk of Osibisa, Abdul has returned to his roots with his current band which plays Ghanaian Hi-life music and dance music which fuses traditional African rhythm and fire with the musical techniques of jazz.» (African Caribbean Ents)

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I.K. Dairo MBE & His Blue Spots - Definitive Dairo (1996)

«I.K. Dairo is often called The Father of Juju Music. In the 1950s and 1960's Juju was considered music of the 'poorer' people because it wasn't modern enough for the elite of the class-conscious Nigeria. After independence, I.K. Dairo was the chief reason Juju took off. In 1957 I.K. Dairo founded his band, the Morning Star Orchestra, later to become the Blue Spots. He incorporated rhythms from all over the country, and even introduced the accordian and slide guitar. Dairo's lyrical skills gave him a string of hit records. In 1963 Dairo received an MBE [Member of the Order of British Empire] for his achievements, the only African musician to ever hold such a title.» (African Music Encyclopedia)

« So influential and beloved was juju godfather I. K. Dairo in his home country of Nigeria, that in observance of the four-day wake following his February 1996 death, the government-run Nigerian broadcasting network played only songs by Dairo, and professional musicians agreed not to perform in public. This disc partly explains the reasons why in an unusual collection of shorter Dairo pieces clocking in at under 8:00, which is a mere eye-blink by juju standards. The radio-friendly lengths reveal lots of hooks, strong melodies, and catchy vocal parts along with arrangements that pack the maximum amount of variations into a limited space. It's A+ juju from start to finish from one of the greatest innovators in African music.» (AMG)

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King Sunny Ade and His African Beats - Juju Music (1982)

«Nigeria's King Sunny Adé and his 20-piece African Beats hypnotize audiences with juju --deeply layered, percussive groove music. Juju started in the '20s as local bar music and developed over the years absorbing new technologies and influences. In the '50s, amplification made it possible to combine acoustic elements, such as guitar melodies and solo singing from the older palm wine music, with full-force ensemble Yoruba drumming to create the rich, dense sound of modern juju. The top ambassador of juju, King Sunny Adé sparked an international Afropop invasion with his sensational tours in the early 1980s. KSA, as Nigerians know him, was just 17 when he eluded the expectations of his courtly family to pursue music playing in Lagos highlife bands. Soon, he latched on to the juju craze, forming his first band the Green Spots in '67. The group emulated the style of juju elder statesman I.K. Dairo and his Blue Spots, but by the time KSA launched the African Beats in '74, he had overshadowed Dairo and gone head-to-head with Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey.

Adé, with his percussive "synchro system," and Ebenezer, with his melodious "miliki" system, drove juju music to unprecedented heights as they competed to update the sound. Ebenezer introduced the three-guitar lineup and the trap drums; KSA overlaid a pedal steel guitar, and later synthesizers. But juju's core rested in percussion topped by eloquent talking drums, and in harmonized call-and-response vocals mixing Yoruba proverbs and Christian themes. Adé has a gentle, silky voice and diving, birdlike dance moves, which his four backup singers follow as part of the group's masterful stage choreography. With a tilt of his guitar, Adé damps his musicians down to a tap and a whisper, only to have them surge on cue with a rally of drums, shakers, bells and tangling guitars.
Returning to the USA in 2000, Adé recalled the legendary 1982 tour when he first introduced his expansive music to large American audiences. "Then I was a stranger," he said, "but now it's like we are all part of a family." […]
Born Sunday Adéniyi, the son of a Methodist minister, Adé left the religious path to pursue a musical career early on…» (Afropop, read more)

«After nearly 15 years as Nigeria's biggest musical draw and juju music's reigning monarch, King Sunny Ade went global in 1982 with a brief but fertile stint on the Mango label. The three albums that resulted – Juju Music, Synchro System, and Aura – gave Ade unprecedented exposure on the Western market and introduced a slew of music lovers to the sounds of Afro-pop. Juju Music was the first of Ade's Mango titles and remains the best of the lot. Over the course of seven extended cuts, King Sunny Ade & His African Beats lay down their trademark mix of talking drum-driven grooves, multi-guitar weaves, lilting vocal harmonies, and pedal steel accents; for this major-label debut, the band also chucks in some tasteful synthesizer bits and a few reggae-dub flourishes. Besides classic juju pop like "Ja Funmi" and "Ma Jaiye Oni," Ade and his 20-piece entourage serve up percussion breakdowns like "Sunny Ti de Ariya" and a heady blend of soul, dub, and synth noodlings on "365 Is My Number/The Message." Throughout, Ade deftly inserts Hawaiian slide guitar licks and Spanish-tinged lines reminiscent of Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower." Juju Music should not only be the first-disc choice for Ade newcomers, but for the Afro-pop curious as well.» (AMG)

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African Rebel Music: Roots, Reggae and Dancehall (2006)

«Presenting hits from 10 countries African Rebel Music – Roots reggae and dancehall gives a first insight into the new reggae dancehall movement in Africa (24 page booklet). So far only two reggae artist have had real international success: Lucky Dube and Alpha Blondy. A new generation has long arrived but although many of them are stars at home and regulars in their local charts, this compilation is the first chance for most of them to release their music internationally. The East African Reggae Bashment Crew is a cooperation of two famous line-ups from East Africa: the duo Necessary Noize from Kenya and Bebe Cool from Uganda. They were nominated for one of the most important African music awards the Kora Awards in South Africa end of 2005 in the category Best African Reggae Group. Another highlight is Tiken Jah Fakoly from Ivory Coast who is no doubt the next reggae star to emerge from Africa. In 2005 he became the most successful reggae artist in France. The 994 Crew recorded the first dancehall track ever from Mauretania. […] Ethiopia pitches in the song ‘Shashamane on my mind’ in which Sydney Salmon praises a piece of land that was once given to the Africans in the Diaspora by Haile Selassie as a place for repatriation. Batman is one of the most popular dancehall artists from Ghana adding the newest style of music now rocking the nightclubs of Accra: raglife. Musicians like Dully Sykes, H2O, The Danfo Drivers, Peter Miles, Teba or Rebellion are the heroes of a new generation of African pop music, that has long surpassed the usual world music stars still being celebrated in Europe. The language is reggae and dancehall. The sound and lyrics of their music represent the feeling of an urban Africa in the 21st century.» (Out Here Records)

«African reggae has always been a hit-or-miss affair. While there have long been reggae artists working the local music scenes of South Africa, Mauritania, and Uganda, the continent has produced only two real international stars: Alpha Blondy (from Ivory Coast) and, even bigger, Lucky Dube (from South Africa). This compilation of tracks presents a wide variety of artists from such disparate locales as Mauritania, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, and it raises hopes for the future of African reggae while still revealing a pretty uneven musical landscape. On the evidence here, it appears that the most exciting developments are taking place in Nigeria: there's a subtle complexity to Mad Melon and Mt. Black's "Sinsemilia" that you wouldn't necessarily expect from a song by that title, and Bantu brings a nice hip-hop flavor to "One Vive One Flow, Pt. 2." In fact, there's quite a bit of hip-hop-reggae fusion going on here, as well as some fine Afrobeat/dancehall (courtesy of Peter Miles and Leo Muntu). There's also the odd sprinkling of political banality (Alif's "Wooyo") and musical banality (H2O's "African"), but overall this is an exciting and encouraging compilation. Recommended.» (AMG)

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Tony Allen & Afrika 70 - Jealousy (1975) / Progress (1977)

«Tony Allen first gained prominence as the drummer for Fela Kuti's Afrika 70, and his technical proficiency and musical versatility were key components in the creation of Afrobeat. Allen shared Kuti's spirit of musical restlessness, and was continually exploring ways to graft funk, jazz and R&B onto traditional African music. Allen has often claimed that the Afrobeat rhythm is "one drummer playing like four" and this pair of records from the late '70s finds him doing just that. But while the percussion is constant, it's never overbearing; Allen is the master of the steady, easy roll, and his gently pulsing patterns serve to support his songs rather than dominate them. He demonstrates equal acuity as a bandleader: "Africa Disco Beat" is peppered with jubilant bursts of brass and is grounded in a burbling, liquid bass line while a thrilling, knotty sax solo dominates "Progress." Allen is not just a celebrated collaborator – he's an innovator in his own right.» (J.Edward Keyes, eMusic)

«[…] Imagine a Nigerian version of James Brown's band with Art Blakey's finesse and Max Roach's jazzy complexity and you'll understand the groove signature of the extended tracks. With Allen's drumming driving the gut-level bass lines, down-home horns, spacy keyboards, and spicy vocals, cuts like the nearly 12-minute "Jealousy" and "Afro Disco Beat" will drive today's kids into Afro-diasporic dervishes that only a groove master like Tony Allen can conjure. (Eugene Holley, Jr., Amazon)

Read the interview.

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Fela Kuti & Nigeria 70 - The '69 Los Angeles Sessions (1969)

«77 dischi incisi, 27 mogli, oltre duecento apparizioni in tribunale. Compositore, sassofonista, tastierista, trombettista, cantante, ballerino, re e inventore dell’Afrobeat. Attivista politico, arrivato ad un passo dalla presidenza Nigeriana. Fela Kuti è indubbiamente l’artista africano che più ha fatto parlare di sé nel nostro secolo. Una superstar controversa, che trasformò la sua musica in una micidiale arma contro la dittatura militare e la corruzione delle istituzioni nigeriane, convertendosi in fonte d’ispirazione ideologica e musicale per artisti e intellettuali di tutto il mondo. Un personaggio chiave della storia africana, il cui messaggio, a dieci anni dalla sua morte, è più che mai vivo e di estrema attualità. Esperti di musica e non, africani ed europei, tutti coloro i quali ebbero la fortuna di vedere Fela Kuti e la sua band esibirsi su di un palco affermano che andare ad un concerto di Fela non significava solo assistere ad uno spettacolo musicale. Era molto di più, era qualcosa che non si dimenticava, un'esperienza spirituale. [...]

La definizione del suo inconfondibile stile, che non a caso denominò “Afrobeat”, arrivò nel 1969, anno in cui Fela, con l’intenzione di registrare un disco ed effettuare una piccola tournèe, approda con la sua band a Los Angeles. Otto mesi di permanenza in America gli permisero di attingere dal jazz del nuovo continente e allo stesso tempo di riscoprire a sua identità africana: erano anni di intenso fervore politico e culturale, e Fela si trovò a vivere da vicino le accese rivendicazioni degli attivisti afroamericani radicali, venendo a conoscenza del Panafricanismo e Afrocentrismo di Malcom X, Eldridge Cleaver, Nkwame Nkrumah, Sekou Touré e Marcus Garvey. Queste esperienze lo segnarono profondamente, portandolo dapprima a ribattezzare la sua band "Nigeria 70", (più tardi "Africa 70"), e successivamente a prendere la decisione di votare la sua musica alla politica, e convertirla definitivamente nella sua micidiale arma di rivendicazione. La raccolta The ’69 Los Angeles Sessions […] contiene già tutti gli elementi che da quel momento in poi vennero a caratterizzare l’inconfondibile stile musicale dell’Afrobeat di Fela Kuti: un miscuglio di highlife nigeriano, jazz e ritmi afrocubani, esplosiva combinazione di fiati squillanti e cori antifonici in puro stile africano, pervasa da ipnotiche linee di chitarra e avvolgenti percussioni. Fela interagisce con questi elementi con il suo sassofono, con le tastiere e con la voce in un groove ondeggiante e ricco di improvvisazioni, in grado protrarsi anche per più di un’ora: Fela sul palco si converte nel maestro di una cerimonia che raggiunge le coscienze e che diffonde il suo messaggio di denuncia contro i soprusi, lo sfruttamento, la corruzione militare, la colonizzazione ideologica, economica e religiosa. Questo fece sì che Fela Kuti divenisse ben presto portavoce delle classi sociali emarginate, simbolo africano della lotta per i diritti dell’uomo, nonché nemico numero uno del governo nigeriano. Di ritorno a Lagos dopo l’esperienza americana…» (continua)

French review.

English biography and review.
Discography of Fela Kuti.

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