Jazz /
Son Of January 15
Segun Bucknor was one of the most important figures in the Nigerian music scene of the 70s, despite having only a brief career with his afrobeat unit which in 1972 released this superb album of which originals usually not turn up at any price. A reis…
Sweet Funk Music
Who said that all Nigerian afrobeat from the 70s was dark and though provoking with a melancholic edge despite the ongoing powerful grooves and a more or less political message denouncing the the methods of the country’s leaders to increase their own…
Ikoto Rock
There we go with another Afro Beat classic that did not really leave Nigeria back in the day it was released. Therefore we can only guess the value among collectors but some reliable sources tell us that even not so mint original copies go for up to …
Let's Have A Party
It’s no exaggeration to say that Geraldo Pino and his band the Heartbeats kickstarted the whole soul/funk/afrobeat scene in West Africa. Mixing highlife, funk and jazz, and using the latest equipment, they laid waste to all before them. In 1966 Fela …
Segun Bucknor
Segun Bucknor fell in love with American soul music as a student at New York’s Columbia University. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles hadn’t made much of a splash in Africa at the time and when Bucknor returned to Nigeria in 196…
I've Been Loving You
“I’ve Been Loving You” sees Manford Best finally laying the ghosts of The Wings to rest and emerge as a serious player in the glittering new world of Afro boogie. Recorded in London, with Nigerian super producer, Jake Sollo, at the desk, it is a high…
Alpha & Omega
In the mid eighties FM radio stations took over the airwaves in Nigeria. They wanted fresh new styles to play andin creasingly radio personalities like Bisi Olatilo, Ruime Effetie and Shea Martins were turning to reggae. Nigeria’s Freak Father Number…
Celebration
Mix righteous fuzz guitar, bad-ass keyboards and ecstatic African rhythms and what have you got? Celebration by Aktion - a slab of of heavy Afro-funk-pysch-rock from the hardest working band in 70s Nigeria. Aktion had a residency at the Lido Night Cl…
She Is My Woman
She Is My Woman is Murphy William’s loose, funky and spontaneous call to the dance floor. It’s an infectious collection of good-time tunes that the band seem to be enjoying as much as the listener. Williams was a stalwart of the Nigerian music scene,…
Let's Dance Together
William Onyeabor wasn’t the only Nigerian experimenting with synthesizers in the 70s and 80s. Goldfinger Doe was twiddling knobs too, no more so than on Let’s Dance Together – a prime slab of cosmic Afro boogie funk, recorded with legendary percussio…
Co-Operation
After years of gigging around the east Nigerian music scene, Foundars 15 finally hit the jackpot when they recruited legendary bass player, Marshall Udo. Charismatic and confident, Udo immediately energised the band, bringing a new funky and psychede…
I Want You Girl
In mid-seventies, Nigerian bands came and went with alarming regularity, rising meteorically from the slums to stardom and falling back again just as quickly. Masisi Mass Funk from Anamara State was one such band. But during their brief moment in the…
Cold Fire
The self-proclaimed funkiest band on the west coast of Africa, the Heads Funk Band, could arguably make that claim for the whole continent. Featuring the slick guitar of Felix ‘Feladey’ Odey, the slinky drumming of Eddie Offeyi and the swirling keybo…
Live In Europe - Fonk Afrika
OFO The Rock Company (originally known as OFO The Back Company) were Nigeria’s first acid-rock band. Blending Hendrix and Deep Purple with shamanism and a pro-black philosophy, they cut their teeth at Fela Kuti’s Afrika Shrine, developing a fearsome …
Girls For Sale
Before he was Nigeria's self-proclaimed Mr Lover Boy, Felix Lebarty was an upcoming musician in the country's Edo-Delta region. His big brother, Aigbe, was a legendary Highlife bandleader, but Felix paid his dues playing guitar with Thony Shorby Nwen…
You & Me
A bona-fide Nigerian prince and probably the only musician to have ever played with Fela Kuti, Miles Davis and Bob Marley, Eji Oyewole combined African Highlife with western jazz to create a hybrid so that was as smooth as it was funky. His first alb…
Devil Woman
The eastern Nigerian city of Calabar in Cross River State was colloquially known as Canaan City – a place of lush landscapes, alluring women and delicious cooking. When the Biafra War ended it became a land of milk and honey for bands as well, with j…
Come Go With Me
With the Super Wings in mutiny and a trail for the manslaughter of his former bandmate, Spuds Nathan, still hanging over his head, Manford Best came out swinging with Come Go With Me. It’s a chirpy, calypso-influenced insight into the state of his mi…
Free Love
It’s hard to get a handle on Nigerian musicians Nash Dodoo, Charlie Cuul and Jonas Caulley. In 1980 they released an album of face-melting gospel boogie as the BML chapels. And in the same year, calling themselves the Beta Yama Group, they put out Fr…
Metalik Funk Band
The Mighty Flames were a crack bunch of Cameroonian musicians, drawn to Nigeria by the heavy funk sounds booming across the border like musical moths. For a short time in the late sentries they ‘owned’ Port Harcourt, destroying dancefloors with an in…