13th March 2010

Audio with 54 plays with 8 notes

Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa 70 - Who’re You? (Original 45 Version)
Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound in 1970s Nigeria (Soundway)

You know, it’s gotten to the point now where pretty much everything Soundway puts out is going to be awesome, no matter what.  This compilation of afrobeat music coming out of the land of its birth is full of intensely fantastic music, and, like the other releases like this that Soundway has been putting out, it’s got extensive liner notes, so you can learn all you ever wanted to know about Bob Ohiri and his Uhuru Sounds or Bongos Ikwue and The Groovies.

If you’re unfamiliar with this stuff, you should be, and this record’s a great place to start.  He’s the master and the originator, so, any chance I have to share some Fela, I’ll take it.  Find the original recording of “Who’re You?” at the top of this post, the version you’d have originally had to hunt down a 45 RPM record to find.

Goddamn.

Tagged: music is the weapon