afro-beat (nigeria)

and continuing where we left off on this process
50 rhythms of the world read and repeated from songlines magazine
now in the process of selecting a youtube posting for each style
so far, so good i think with 2 short clips to very well demonstrate adi-talam and axe
tonight it's the turn of afro-beat
has to be the master exponent and inventor himself - fela kuti (rip)
as quoted by songlines magazine
nowhere in african music can the cross-pollination with black american rhythms be heard more thrillingly than in the sound of fela kuti
after briefly moving to the u s in 1969, he returned to lagos in the early 70's to create afro-beat
a mighty simmering stew of african rhythms, call-and-response vocals, brooding horns, jazz flavours
and a funk outrageous enough to make james brown blush
i've already also had a rave about one of his live concert dvds
closest i have ever got to this style is seeing his son femi
playing at womadelaide this year with his band the positive force
appearantly he has inherited his father's spirit and is propelling the music forward
he was certainly a powerful force on stage
won the crowd over with his stage show and his bands superb musicianship
it was a memorable night and up there with the best of them
as for his dad fela well he kind of scares me
there's intent in those there eyes
and an authority on stage like no other
he would have been an utterly demanding chap to work for
but his music is very infectious and almost hypnotic
in this little clip we hear him talk about his political aspirations
and some footage of him running for president of nigeria (twice)
please ignore the credits for some film at the beginning
but stick around for the music - afro-beat style
(2 of 50)