Showing posts with label Afrorock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Afrorock. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2026

VA - Journeys Into Psychedelic Africa (A Butterboy Compilation) (4 x CDs)

AFRICAN PSYCH

VA - Journeys Into Psychedelic Africa A Butterboy Compilation) (4 x CDs)

African psychedelic music was never a single sound. It was not a scene in the way London, San Francisco or Berlin were scenes. It emerged in fragments, in port cities, university halls, roadside studios, national radio rooms, desert camps, nightclubs, political ceremonies and half-functioning pressing plants. Across the continent, musicians absorbed rock, funk, soul, traditional rhythms, spiritual music, electric blues and homemade electronics, then reshaped them into something stranger and far more personal. What survives on these recordings is not simply “African rock” or “Afro-funk.” It is the sound of musicians discovering entirely new emotional languages in real time.

This collection follows that journey across four discs, each one moving deeper into a different psychological space.

CD1 begins at ignition point. Raw guitars, distorted organs, fuzz pedals and ecstatic rhythms collide with highlife, Afrobeat and local ceremonial traditions. These recordings carry an incredible sense of possibility. Bands like Witch, Ofege and The Funkees were not imitating Western psychedelic music, they were transforming it into something rooted in entirely different landscapes and spiritual traditions. The energy is youthful, restless and alive.

CD2 moves inward. Rhythm becomes ritualistic, hypnotic and cyclical. Desert blues, modal repetition and trance structures begin to dominate the music. The pulse slows down, but the intensity deepens. Here, artists such as Tinariwen, El Wali and Fela Kuti stretch music into long-form spiritual movement. Songs become journeys rather than performances. Time itself starts to dissolve.

CD3 represents the electric city at night. Psychedelia mutates into urban groove systems, cosmic disco, deep funk and hypnotic repetition. Synthesizers appear beside traditional percussion. Studio experimentation becomes part of the language. Artists like William Onyeabor, Manu Dibango and Steve Monite create music that feels futuristic even decades later, balancing dancefloor motion with something deeply mysterious beneath the surface.

By CD4, the journey reaches dissolution. The music becomes spacious, reflective and dreamlike. Voices drift through desert air, rhythms fade into memory, and songs feel suspended between continents, histories and states of consciousness. What remains is atmosphere, emotion and distance. The recordings by Francis Bebey, Ali Farka Touré, Mamani Keïta and Tinariwen do not simply close the collection, they transform it into something almost cinematic, as though the listener is slowly travelling beyond the physical world these recordings came from.

Many of these tracks survived against impossible odds. Small pressings, unstable political climates, collapsing studios, disappearing master tapes and decades of neglect nearly erased this music entirely. Yet the recordings endure because they contain something timeless, discovery. The feeling of musicians pushing beyond known forms and finding sounds that still feel radical today.

This box set is not intended as an invitation into a different way of hearing music, where rhythm becomes landscape, repetition becomes trance, and psychedelia is not escapism but transformation. And it is not a definitive anthology. It is but a structured listening environment, one that encourages one to hear psychedelia not as a sound, but as a series of evolving systems of perception across African musical history. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Witch - Introduction 3:14

02 Cicada - Let the Bread Flow In 3:29

03 Osibisa - Music for a Gong Gong (Single Version) 4:38

04 Monomono - Give The Beggar A Chance 5:57

05 Moussa Doumbia - Keleya 6:42

06 Ofege - It's Not Easy 4:20

07 Sorry Bamba - Porry 8:17

08 BLO - Time to Face the Sun 4:03

09 The Funkees - Dancing Time 3:19

10 Question Mark - Love 5:12

11 Marijata - No Condition is Permanent 7:04

12 El Rego et Ses Commandos - Feeling You Got 3:44

13 Thermometers - Babalawo 3:35

14 Nkengas - Anyi Bundi Igbo 3:07

15 Fubura Sekibo - Psychedelic Baby 3:10

16 Tunji Oyelana and The Benders - Ifa 4:59

17 Super Eagles - Love's A Real Thing 2:59

18 Amanaz - Khala My Friend 3:40

19 Hygrades - In The Jungle (Vocal) 3:17

20 Tony Grey & The Black 7 - The Feelings 4:47


CD2

01 Tinariwen - Cler Achel 4:23

02 Tamikrest - Adagh 3:09

03 Imarhan - Temet 5:01

04 El Wali - Dreams and Nostalgia 4:20

05 Les Abranis - Akoudar 4:13

06 Orchestre National de Mauritanie - Chabab El-Bilad 2:09

07 Orchestra Baobab - Diarabi 5:15

08 Nass El Ghiwane - Essiniya 6:48

09 Super Mama Djombo - Dissan na m’bera 5:12

10 Attarazat Addahabia, Faradjallah - Albaki 7:06

11 Assagai - Telephone Girl 3:27

12 Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Alu Jon Jonki Jon 12:41

13 Orchestre Regional De Kayes - Sanjina 6:00

14 Ebo Taylor & Uhuru-Yenzu - Love and Death 8:19

15 William Onyeabor - good name 10:08

16 Francis Bebey - Forest Nativity 4:23

17 Peter King - Ajo 4:00

18 Opotopo (Easy Kabaka Brown) - Agboho 8:53

19 Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey & His International Brothers - Ajoyio 6:39

20 Philip Cohran and The Artistic Heritage Ensemble - On The Beach 17:30


CD3

01 William Onyeabor - Fantastic Man 6:26

02 Ebo Taylor - Heaven 6:04

03 Manu Dibango - Big Blow 5:39

04 Francis Bebey - New Track 8:17

05 Segun Bucknor - Sorrow, Sorrow, Sorrow 12:34

06 Mombasa - Nairobi 7:30

07 Steve Monite - only you (disco jam) 6:29

08 Pat Thomas & The Sweet Beans - False Lover 3:22

09 Black Truth Rhythm Band - Save D Musician 8:06

10 Orlando Julius & His Afro-Sound - Afro-Blues 6:11

11 Amadou & Mariam - Ce N´est Pas Bon 4:22

12 Getatchew Mekurya - Eywat Setenafegagn 5:05

13 Hykkers - I Want a Break Thru' 3:02

14 Buari - Karam Bani 4:22

15 Dr Victor Olaiya's International All-Stars - Kinringjingbin 4:29

16 Question Mark - Love 5:12

17 Funkees - Slipping Into Darkness 4:23

18 Tony Grey & The Black 7 - The Feelings 4:47

19 Ice - Time Will Tell 4:45

20 Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Dahomey - Minsato Le, Mi Deyihome 3:19


CD4

01 Francis Bebey - The Coffee Cola Song 5:05

02 Ali Farka Touré & Ry Cooder - Ai Du 7:10

03 Mamani Keïta - Yelema 4:45

04 Boubacar Traore - Mali Twist 5:57

05 Malouma - Yarab 5:02

06 Ismael Lo - Tajabone 4:04

07 Oumou Sangare - Saa Magni 7:36

08 Salif Keita - Madan 5:07

09 Youssou N'Dour - Birima 3:47

10 Farafina - Dounounia 5:22

11 Ali Hassan Kuban - Mabruk (Egypt) 6:33

12 Waves - Wake Up You 4:01

13 Rokia Traoré - Kounandi 5:23

14 Dhafer Youssef - A Kind of Love 4:51

15 Group Bombino - Amidinine 4:35

16 Abdallah Ag Oumbadougou - Imidiwan 3:42

17 Tinariwen - Izarharh Tenere 5:01

18 Bassekou Kouyate & Lobi Traore - Banani 3:39

19 Getatchew Mekurya - Eywat Setenafegagn 5:05

20 Hugh Masekela - Stimela (Coaltrain) 6:26

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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Tuesday, March 4, 2025

William Onyeabor - William Onyeabor [2014] (9 x CDs)

WILLIAM ONYEABOR

William Onyeabor - William Onyeabor [2014] (9 x CDs)

William Ezechukwu Onyeabor, was born outside Enugu, a small, rural town in Eastern Nigeria (26 March 1946 - 16 January 2017).  HEwas a Nigerian funk musician and businessman. His music was widely heard in Nigeria in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite his success, he remained an enigmatic, private, and reclusive figure.  

William Onyeabor was born outside Enugu, a small, rural town in Eastern Nigeria, he created his own genre of African electronic funk in the late 70s and early 80s, making music completely unique for his time. Today, he is reaching cult status among a growing list of admirers, including everyone from Damon Albarn and Hot Chip to Carl Craig and Madlib, with some likening him to the Kraftwerk of West Africa, or a precursor to LCD Soundsystem.

Onyeabor's songs are often heavily rhythmic and synthesized, occasionally epic in scope, with lyrics decrying war. Onyeabor himself and female backing singers provided vocals. In the 2010s, some of his songs appeared on various compilations, most frequently his biggest hit, "Better Change Your Mind", which appeared on Africa 100, World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's a Real Thing – The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa on Luaka Bop, and Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970's Funky Lagos on Strut Records.

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Track lists

CD1

01 William Onyeabor - Something You'll Never Forget 10:06

02 William Onyeabor - Ride on Baby 6:30

03 William Onyeabor - Crashes in Love 6:29

04 William Onyeabor - Heaven & Hell 4:02

05 William Onyeabor - Jungle Gods 4:03


CD2

01 William Onyeabor - Something You'll Never Forget 8:41

02 William Onyeabor - Ride on Baby 6:07

03 William Onyeabor - Crashes in Love 6:05

04 William Onyeabor - Heaven & Hell 3:54


CD3

01 William Onyeabor - Beautiful Baby 8:26

02 William Onyeabor - Better Change Your Mind 8:22

03 William Onyeabor - Atomic Bomb 8:00

04 William Onyeabor - Shame 5:50

05 William Onyeabor - I Need You All Life 6:44


CD4

01 William Onyeabor - Tomorrow 6:07

02 William Onyeabor - Why Go to War 9:04

03 William Onyeabor - Love Me Now 7:04

04 William Onyeabor - Fantastic Man 6:32

05 William Onyeabor - Try and Try 3:35


CD5

01 William Onyeabor - The Way to Win Your Love 7:27

02 William Onyeabor - Poor Boy 8:17

03 William Onyeabor - Body and Soul 10:08

04 William Onyeabor - I Believe in God 8:21


CD6

01 William Onyeabor - Tell Me What You Want 9:08

02 William Onyeabor - Great Lover 6:36

03 William Onyeabor - Love is Blind 7:51

04 William Onyeabor - I've Got Love 7:40


CD7

01 William Onyeabor - The Moon and The Sun 9:20

02 William Onyeabor - Papa Na Mama 6:49

03 William Onyeabor - Hypertension 7:58

04 William Onyeabor - Politicians 7:13


CD8

01 William Onyeabor - Good Name 10:08

02 William Onyeabor - Let's Fall in Love 7:19


CD9

01 William Onyeabor - When The Going is Smooth & Good 12:53

02 William Onyeabor - This Kind of World 6:05

03 William Onyeabor - Anything You Sow 7:59

04 William Onyeabor - Everyday 5:37

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Thursday, December 9, 2021

VA - Sweet As Broken Dates, Lost Somali Tapes From The Horn Of Africa [2017]

 

LOST SOMALI TAPES

VA - Sweet As Broken Dates, Lost Somali Tapes From The Horn Of Africa [2017]

 In 1988, on the eve of a two decade civil war, Somalia's authoritarian ruler Siad Barre launched punishing air strikes on the north of the country, known today as Somaliland, in response to agitations for independence. The bombing leveled the entire city. Barre targeted Radio Hargeisa to prevent any kind of central communication system that could organize a resistance. With the attack imminent, a few brave radio operators and dedicated vanguards of Somali culture knew the archives, containing over half a century of Somali music had to be preserved. Thousands upon thousands of cassette tapes and master reels were quickly removed from the soon-to-be targeted buildings. They were dispersed to neighboring countries like Djibouti and Ethiopia, and buried deep under the ground to withstand even the most powerful airstrikes. These audio artifacts were excavated and recalled from their foreign shelters only very recently. Some of those recordings are now kept safe in the 10,000-strong cassette tape archive of the Red Sea Foundation, the largest collection of Somali cassettes in the world, in Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa. This music was never made available for mass release. Almost all recorded material came from original masters or homemade recordings of radio broadcasts. As a result, most of it has never been heard outside Somalia and the immediate region.

So, what does this stuff sound like? Think of a more subtle Afro-pop with lots of wheezy organ riffs propelling the sounds. There are also some very upbeat tracks with strong grooves that will get you up and out of your seat. This album is truly magic and contain some amazing music, the world are in debt to the persons who saved this treasure from destruction. (Amazon)

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Track lists


01 Nimco Jamaac Buuraha U Dheer (The Highest Mountains) 5:49

02 Aamina Camaari Rag Waa Nacab Iyo Nasteexo (Men Are Cruel And Kind) 6:00

03 Ali Nuur Unknown 5:21

04 Hibo Nuura Haddii Hoobalkii Gabay (If the Artist Let's You Down) 4:32

05 Gacaltooyo Band feat. Faduumina Hilowle Ninkaan Ogayn (He Who Does Not Know) 4:07

06 Iftiin Band feat. Mahmud Abdalla Jerry Hussen & Maryan Naasir Xuduud Ma Leh Xubigaan (This Love Has No Boundaries) 7:13

07 Xasan Diiriye Qaraami (Love) 6:42

08 Dur Dur Band feat. Sahra Dawo Gorof (Elixir) 5:40

09 Sharaf Band feat. Xaawo Hiiraa Kadeed Badanaa Naftaydani (My Life is Full of Tribulations) 5:31

10 4 Mars Na Daadihi (Guide Us) 4:33

11 Danan Hargeysa feat. Mohamed Huro Abdihashi Uur Hooyo (Mother's Womb) 6:08

12 Sharero Band feat. Faadumo Qaasim Qays iyo Layla (Romeo & Juliet 3:45

13 Waaberi Band Oktoobar Waatee- Waa Taayadii (What's October- It's Ours) 4:43

14 Dur Dur Band feat. Muqtar Idi Ramadan Duruuf Maa Laygu Diidee (Rejected Due to My Circumstance) 4:22

15 Iftiin Band feat. Mahmud Abdalla Jerry Hussen Anna Qaylodhaanta 5:23

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Saturday, August 22, 2020

Fela Kuti - The Complete Works of Fela Anikulapo Kuti [2010] (26 x CD's)




FELA ANIJULAPO KUTI (Real name Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti)

Fela Kuti - The Complete Works of Fela Anikulapo Kuti [2010] (26 x CD's)


Fela Anikulapo Kuti (Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre and human rights activist. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers".

He formed his first group Koola Lobitos in 1963. The large jazz, funk, and afrobeat collective underwent many changes in the following decades but the style remained the same thanks to Fela's vision and other key members such as drummer Tony Allen.  In 1969 after visiting America, Fela returned to Nigeria and opened club Afro Spot in Lagos also changing the group's name to Afrika 70. He played with Ginger Baker on the album Ginger Baker Live with Afrika 70 and Fela Kuti, released in 1971 and along side Bobby Gass, better known as Bobby Tench from The Jeff Beck Group, on Stratavarious which was released the next year. In 1981 Fela changed the group's name for the last time to Egypt 80.  He was known as Fela Ransome-Kuti until about 1978, when he renamed himself Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the middle name meaning 'he who carries death in his pouch'. He was a human rights revolutionary who started his own political party, Movement Of The People, to protest the kleptocracy in Nigeria. He had his own compound called the Kalakuta Republic in Lagos, which he declared independent from Nigeria, where he and his uncountable number of wives lived and they were constantly terrorized by the government.  His influence on funk and African music is unsurpassed and has put his name to many albums, the total number thought to be 77. The King of Afrobeat never sold out! If I had to pick one album to recommend it would have to be 'Confusion', a dance symphony driven by the rhythm assault of the awesome Tony Allen. Also listen for the usual blistering brass-section and the man himself: the late, greatly lamented Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

This Fela Kuti box houses 26 CDs plus a DVD (not included Here).  All nicely sleeved in mini cardboard replica album sleeves, which all fit into one simple box. The music seems to celebrate one eternal unending groove - a groove as distinctive to Fela Kuti as say JJ Cale's trademark slink is to him. Like JJ you start off thinking after you have bought your first 2 or 3 albums: if its all the same, why do I need to get all the albums? But I'm so glad to have this complete set to explore. It's joyous music and the vast abundance of it is part of its essence, some tracks were so long they couldn't fit onto a vinyl album side. All credit to the record company for seeing this project through. An overwhelming amount of - mostly excellent - music to digest. (Amazon)


This Limited Edition, Compilation, Box Set was generously passed on to me by my friend Jeff.
The files are tagged, and artwork is embedded to each album. (A total of 43 albums)
These are not my links.

It is a singular document, one that testifies to Kuti's authentic role as one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century.

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Track lists

CD01    Open and Close + Afrodiisac 


01 Open and Close
02 Swegbe and Pako
03 Gbagada gbagada gbogodo gbodogo
04 Alu jon jonki jon
05 Jeun ko ku (Chop 'n Quench)
06 Eko ile
07 Je'nwi temi (Don't Gag Me)

CD02    J.J.D / Unnecessary Begging


01 J.J.D
02 Unnecessary Begging
03 No Buredi

CD03: Zombie

01 Zombie
02 Mister Follow Follow
03 Observation Is No Crime
04 Mistake

CD04    Underground System


01 Underground System
02 Pansa pansa
03 Confusion Break Bones

CD05    Fela With Ginger Baker Live!

01 Let's Start
02 Black Man's Cry
03 Ye Ye De Smell
04 Egde mi o
05 Ginger Baker and Tony Allen Drum Solo

CD06    Live in Amsterdam


01 M.O.P. (Movement of the People) Political Statement 1
02 You Gimme Shit I Give You Shit
03 Custom Check Pain

CD07    V.I.P. / Authority Stealing

01 V.I.P. (Part 1 & 2)
02 Authority Stealing (Part 1 & 2)

CD08    Yellow Fever / Na Poi

01 Yellow Fever
02 Na Poi (1975 Version)
03 Na Poi (Part 1 and 2)
04 You No Go Die... Unless

CD09    Alagbon Close / Why Black Man Dey Suffer

01 Alagbon Close
02 I No Get Eye for Back
03 Why Black Man Dey Suffer
04 Ikoyi Mentality Versus Mushin' Mentality

CD10    Before I Jump Like Monkey Give Me Banana / Excuse-O

01 Monkey Banana
02 Sense Wiseness
03 Excuse O
04 Mr Grammarticalogyisationalism Is the Boss

CD11    Everything Scatter / Noise for Vendor Mouth

01 Everything Scatter
02 Who No Know Go Know
03 Noise for Vendor Mouth
04 Mattress

C012    Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense

01 Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense
02 Look and Laugh
03 Just Like That

CD13    Koola Lobitos 64-68 / The '69 Los Angeles Sessions

01 Highlife Time
02 Omuti Tide
03 Ololufe mi
04 Wadele wa rohin
05 Laise lairo
06 Wayo
07 My Lady Frustration
08 Viva Nigeria
09 Obe
10 Ako
11 Witchcraft
12 Wayo (2nd Version)
13 Lover
14 Funky Horn
15 Eko
16 This Is Sad

CD14    Roforofo Fight / Fela Singles

01 Roforofo Fight
02 Go Slow
03 Question Jam Answer
04 Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am
05 Shenshema
06 Ariya

CD15: Confusion / Gentleman

01 Confusion (Part 1 and 2)
02 Gentleman
03 Fefe naa efe
04 Igbe

CD16    Shakara / Fela's London Scene

01 Lady
02 Shakara
03 J'ehin j'eehin
04 Egbe mi o
05 Who're You
06 Buy Africa
07 Fight to Finish

CD17    Expensive Shit / He Miss Road

01 Expensive Shit
02 Water No Get Enemy
03 He Miss Road
04 Monday Morning in Lagos
05 It's No Possible

CD18    Stalemate / Fear Not for Man

01 Stalemate
02 Don't Worry About My Mouth O
03 Fear Not for Man
04 Palm Wine Sound

CD19    Ikoyi Blindness / Kalakuta Show

01 Ikoyi Blindness
02 Gba mi leti ki n'dolowo
03 Kalakuta Show
04 Don't Make Garan Garan

CD20    Upside Down / Music of Many Colours

01 Upside Down
02 Go Slow
03 2000 Black Got to Be Free
04 Africa Centre of the World

CD21    Beasts of No Nation / ODOO
01 Beasts of No Nation
02 O.D.O.O

CD22    Army Arrangement

01 Army Arrangement
02 Government Chicken Boy

CD23    Coffin for the Head of State / Unknown Soldier

01 Coffin for the Head of State
02 Unknown Soldier (Part 1 and 2)

CD24    Shuffering and Shmiling / No Agreement

01 Shuffering and Shmiling
02 No Agreement
03 Dog Eat Dog

CD25    Opposite People / Sorrow Tears and Blood


01 Opposite People
02 Equalisation of Trouser and Pant
03 Sorrow Tears and Blood
04 Colonial Mentality

CD26    Original Sufferhead / ITT

01 Original Sufferhead
02 Power Show
03 I.T.T

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