― anthony, Sunday, 2 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― chaki, Sunday, 2 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
now that that's out of our systems, what's everyones favorite fela piece/alb (and no..."I can't choose...they're all so grate!" bullshit)...
mine is "shakara."
― jess, Sunday, 2 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― M. Matos, Monday, 3 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― Clarke B., Monday, 3 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― anthony, Monday, 3 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― dave q, Monday, 3 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― fritz, Monday, 3 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
Anyone check out any of the recent afrobeat comps? "Afrorock" sounds really interesting, the guy who compiled it spent years travelling around Africa finding original stuff.
― turner, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― m jemmeson, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― your null fame, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― fritz, Tuesday, 4 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― your null fame, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
(Although I think I'm still more annoyed that I missed seeing a free Grupo Niche concert because I didn't know when they were coming on.)
― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 5 February 2003 02:45 (10 years ago) Permalink
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 19 September 2004 06:34 (8 years ago) Permalink
― jake b. (cerybut), Sunday, 19 September 2004 08:15 (8 years ago) Permalink
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 19 September 2004 15:42 (8 years ago) Permalink
dancing alone to Fela in living room = only known cure for depression
― J0hn D., Saturday, 17 November 2007 16:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
temp cure OK but any port in a storm
>dancing alone to Fela in living room = only known cure for depression
You could also try dancing to Ornette Coleman's early Atlantic recordings, esp. This Is Our Music and "Ramblin'" from Change Of The Century. But I hear ya.
Worth noting: the Spanish label Vampisoul has just released a 2CD compilation of Tony Allen's first four solo albums, and the first three (Jealousy, Progress and No Accomodation For Lagos) feature Afrika 70 as the backing band, including Fela on sax.
― unperson, Saturday, 17 November 2007 16:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/theater/06fela.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Fela! the off-broadway musical opening in NYC Sept. 4th
Hmmmmmmm....
― curmudgeon, Friday, 8 August 2008 03:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
as long as it has an "!" it should be good
― velko, Friday, 8 August 2008 04:03 (4 years ago) Permalink
The Most Happy Fela in the Whole Niger Delta
― gabbneb, Friday, 8 August 2008 04:04 (4 years ago) Permalink
apparently Fela, Soyinka, Obasanjo and Moshood Abiola all come from the same town
― gabbneb, Friday, 8 August 2008 04:09 (4 years ago) Permalink
finally got "music of many colors" (the roy ayers collaboration) and it far exceeds expectations. i had expected something along the lines of "africa centre of the world", instead i get dubby uptempo spaced-out afro-disco in the vein of tony allen's "NEPA dub". this is tremendous.
still think "coffin for head of state" is the best. shows off his tremendous grooves (second only to ITT or shuffering and shmiling in my mind), his wicked sarcasm ("alluahakbarablahblahblahblah ... wokka wokka wokka"), his righteous anger (they killed his mom!) all in the same track.
― moonship journey to baja, Friday, 8 August 2008 07:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
otm
― baaderonixx, Friday, 8 August 2008 07:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
I came to this thread wanting to write "Coffin For Head Of State" yes yes yes yes yes yes. I have become enthralled by Fela in the past month. not before time.
― Tim F, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 13:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
Can someone recommend the early "L.A. sessions" CD?
― baaderonixx, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 13:26 (4 years ago) Permalink
This close to OTMing, but on second thought it's Ayler's New Grass for me--big fun slapping you on the ass.
― RabiesAngentleman, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 13:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
Though on the other hand, tragically, I'm only familiar with Confusion/Gentleman.
tim you must hear "2000 black" (roy ayers w/ fela + afrika 70)
― moonship journey to baja, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 14:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
exact title is "2000 Blacks Got To Be Free"
― moonship journey to baja, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 14:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
^^yes!
― andrew m., Tuesday, 23 September 2008 14:47 (4 years ago) Permalink
also "mr. grammarticologylisationalism is the boss"lord it's good
― andrew m., Tuesday, 23 September 2008 14:50 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.studio360.org/episodes/2008/12/19
Bill T. Jones, the choreographer/director of Fela!, talks about the show and Fela on the radio program Studio 360. It appears the show may run in London shortly and then come back to NYC for a longer run if they can get financing.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 21 December 2008 16:32 (4 years ago) Permalink
!!!http://www.voanews.com/english/africa/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=8DC92121-9F33-ED7A-D547329B08561449
― tylerw, Wednesday, 28 January 2009 20:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
Did anyone see this Yale Prof talk on Monday April 20th at Harvard (Wayne Marshall highlighted this at his Wayne and Wax site)?
Michael Veal, professor of ethnomusicology at Yale, bassist, and the author of two interesting and informed books, Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon and Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae* is delivering a lecture at Harvard this afternoon called “Technotopia 1969.”
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 April 2009 05:00 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/bal-fela-jay-z-1117,0,4543991.story
NEW YORK - It's official: After weeks of speculation, Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have joined the producing team of the Broadway musical "Fela!"
Jay-Z told The Associated Press last month that he might be getting involved in the show, an Afrobeat musical about the life of the late Nigerian musical legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Now producers say he and the Smiths are in, though there's no word on how much of a financial investment the three have made in the show.
"Fela!" is now in previews at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and opens next Monday. It's directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones.
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 16:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
Is Will Smith going to play Fela in the inevitable biopic? With CGI Jada as his 30 wives?
― tylerw, Tuesday, 17 November 2009 16:14 (3 years ago) Permalink
it'd be really funny if "fela: the musical" had all its songs written in the broadway musical idiom.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Wednesday, 18 November 2009 01:14 (3 years ago) Permalink
Andrew Lloyd Weber's Fela!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 18 November 2009 01:21 (3 years ago) Permalink
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/theater/22fela.html?_r=1
Lotsa details in this Pareles article on the Broadway show plus the impending cd and vinyl reissues and Antibalas stuff
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 22 November 2009 18:58 (3 years ago) Permalink
Knitting Factory Records has issued “The Best of the Black President,” a two-CD anthology of Fela’s music packaged with a documentary DVD. The label plans to release all of Fela’s nearly four dozen albums on CD and LP, including some that never appeared on vinyl in the United States.
― contenderizer, Sunday, 22 November 2009 22:37 (3 years ago) Permalink
fwiw, C and D on Fela The Musical (off-Broadway verz) from Arthur No. 31/Oct 2008:
http://www.arthurmag.com/2008/10/16/c-d-from-arthur-no-31/
― jaybabcock, Monday, 23 November 2009 03:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
anyone know what the forthcoming stones throw fela album is all about?
― andy watt (stevie), Monday, 23 November 2009 08:39 (3 years ago) Permalink
saw the musical this weekend--really incredible
― max, Monday, 25 January 2010 02:29 (3 years ago) Permalink
The artwork for each album is painstakingly recreated original album artwork along with vintage vinyl label artwork.
I dunno. I haven't ever seen the original album covers as they are hard to find, but I'd like to know what was so painstaking in creating the orginal covers. Expensive Shit looks like it is a very bad photocopy reproduction. The text is kinda fuzzy and maybe out of focus (if I'm looking at it right). Almost like the original image used was a 400x400 pixel blown up larger for the lp. Maybe someone with the original album can shed some input on this album's cover? The others look okay, I guess. Just a minor picking on my part.
Not sure how these are sourced either. But they sound pretty good.
― van smack, Monday, 7 February 2011 03:41 (2 years ago) Permalink
i essentially know nothing about fela but i've been listening to that "the best of the black president" comp a lot lately. my default answer to the "favorite album" question has for years been remain in light, so this is simultaneously an "oh that's what they were ripping off" moment and a "oh amazing, hours and hours of this stuff" moment.
― difficult listening hour, Monday, 7 February 2011 04:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
<3 you dlh, remain in light was my #1 for years until i finally overplayed it. If you're a fela neophyte like u say I would suggest watching "Music Is The Weapon" immediately.
Also this box set news is awesome! was starting to wonder if this project stalled out.
― Cosmo Vitelli, Monday, 7 February 2011 05:37 (2 years ago) Permalink
I think if you want to know what Remain in Light is ripping off, you also need to check out Manu Dibango and King Sunny Ade. (xpost)
― hey boys, suppers on me, our video just went bacterial (Hurting 2), Monday, 7 February 2011 05:55 (2 years ago) Permalink
The London version of Fela The Musical was breathtaking. Got taken to it as a birthday thing.Can't believe the endless energy poured into it. God those people are fit, speshly the ladees.
Have that Best Best of Black President 2cd & a couple of other things. Must get some more.
Listening to Zombie on Glengad beach last summer is a major musical memory of 2010
― Stevolende, Monday, 7 February 2011 12:14 (2 years ago) Permalink
Last time I saw the Roots, maybe a month or two ago, Black Thought hinted they were taking something Fela-related out on the road. Anyone know what he was on about?
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 February 2011 12:46 (2 years ago) Permalink
fuck this high priced box set treatment (i cant afford it either). would be happy if his old albums were just reeleased on vinyl at a reasonable price. there were a load released in the 90s - someone needs to do that again.
― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Monday, 7 February 2011 12:49 (2 years ago) Permalink
I was in England last week and they were selling a 27-disc box (all 43 albums on 26 CDs, plus a DVD) for 65 pounds. I almost bought one.
― that's not funny. (unperson), Monday, 7 February 2011 14:07 (2 years ago) Permalink
^yeah that would be difficult to pass up
― ellj versus deej (Drugs A. Money), Monday, 7 February 2011 16:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah that complete recordings set looks tempting. you can get it for just about $100 via amazon marketplace sellers. i've been very close to pulling the trigger on buying it.
― tylerw, Monday, 7 February 2011 16:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
I've got a vinyl box set (it's number 4 in a series, but I've never seen the others) with Zombie, No Agreement, Coffin for Head of State, Kalakuta Show, Shuffering and Shmiling, and Fear Not For Man. It was a hundo, but it's gorgeous. No book or anything like that, but it came with postcards of "Fela's Beauties" in it.
― Trip Maker, Monday, 7 February 2011 16:28 (2 years ago) Permalink
the complete box sets on wrasse are a bit of a mess date-wise arent they? seem to be lots of albums from diff eras stuck together. :(
― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Wednesday, 9 February 2011 11:58 (2 years ago) Permalink
so I've listened to fela casually in the past but somebody posted a youtube on fb the other day, something about it hit me the right way and I thought "I should listen to this guy's entire discog"
so here I go
― I GUESS THAT CINNABON GETTIN EATEN (Edward III), Friday, 24 February 2012 18:51 (1 year ago) Permalink
see you in a year
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 24 February 2012 18:52 (1 year ago) Permalink
kinda thinking about seeing seun kuti next month -- anybody checked the show out before?
― tylerw, Friday, 24 February 2012 18:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
nah maybe a month or two
xp
― I GUESS THAT CINNABON GETTIN EATEN (Edward III), Friday, 24 February 2012 19:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
50 albums that's nuthin
― I GUESS THAT CINNABON GETTIN EATEN (Edward III), Friday, 24 February 2012 19:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
Well, most of his records are on the shortish side.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 24 February 2012 19:49 (1 year ago) Permalink
― tylerw, Friday, February 24, 2012
Yes. It was fun, although at times he seemed to be trying too hard to imitate his Dad(taking off his shirt and stuff)
― curmudgeon, Friday, 24 February 2012 19:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
Femi didn't even bother to come onstage in a shirt in the first place
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 24 February 2012 19:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
But he does some disco-beat tracks that Seun would never do
― curmudgeon, Friday, 24 February 2012 20:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
I don't think
― curmudgeon, Friday, 24 February 2012 20:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
seun is good live, obv not as good as dad and prob not quite as good as femi but still the real deal
― the late great, Friday, 24 February 2012 20:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
seun is definitely worth seeing live.. never got to see fela, so this is obviously the next best thing...
and he always opens his show with Zombie, which is killer..
― Talcum Mucker, Friday, 24 February 2012 20:45 (1 year ago) Permalink
listened to my first batch of fela stuff, figure I will liveblog in case anybody's interested. I'm no funk/jazz guru so don't expect sophisticated breakdowns, just my gut reactions here...
fela kuti & koola lobitos 64-68not much of note, some good tunes but recordings are ruff and overall the songs are a bit anonymous. for the curious archivist.
fela fela fela (1969) aka the '69 los angeles sessionstaken aback by how solid this is. whatever was in the water in LA in '69 agreed with him something fierce. bitsize fela, most tracks run 3-4 minutes long. leans more toward upbeat/jazz high life style, but there are hints of the hypnotic incantatory approach he mined on later albums. if you can get a hold of the original version, fela fela fela, it's much better than the remixed one called the '69 los angeles sessions. it almost sounds as though somebody tried to remix it like a heavy funk record, when really this is silky jazz played with finesse, and it benefits from being muted + smooth rather than brash + amped up.
fela's london scene (1969)a transitional album. longer workouts, with the polyrhythms getting pushed to the fore. unfortunately the material isn't very strong here. standout track "egbe mi o" is rendered in stronger relief on...
live! (1970)first track "let's start" sounds like a warmup number, but after that this thing really takes off. a stuttering bassline fuels fela's howls on "black man's cry", "egbe mi o" weaves between a catchy descending vocal chant and full-on in-your-face horn hits. apparently redhead tailor, some guy from an english rock band called cream, plays on this. you'd never know, so good on him.
why the black man dey suffer (1971)title track is ground zero for fela's sound in the 70s. amazing that he went from "my lady frustration" in '69 to this. it grooves, but in a yearning + downbeat way, a confidant, fully-realized pastiche of the styles he'd been mixing and matching for the past few years. the social consciousness angle is front and center now: 'dey took our culture away from us / gave us dem culture no one understand'. flip side is an adequate workout.
ginger baker - stratavarious (1972)this is listed as part of fela's discog on wiki, which is good because I doubt I would've heard it otherwise. first two songs are collabs w/ fela, the second written by him. they're less musically sophisticated than what he was doing at the time with africa '70, but they're a lot more atmospheric and trippy. worth tracking down. some haunting vocal turns by sandra smith, who introduced fela to the black power movement in LA, a big impact on his aesthetic development.
― I GUESS THAT CINNABON GETTIN EATEN (Edward III), Monday, 5 March 2012 19:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
good interview with sandra smith here about her time in LA w/ fela
http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2011/12/fela_kuti_los_angeles_sandra_i.php
love this bit
It was really exciting when he auditioned for Disneyland. I was like, "ooh, a free trip to Disneyland!" I was so excited, but at the end of the day, I was disappointed.
Disneyland told Fela that he wasn't playing African music. They wanted him to play in Adventureland.
They had thought he played just stereotypical African music, like what they have on the Small World ride?
They thought he was going to be something else, and they said that he wasn't playing African music at all. How do you tell an African man, playing African rhythms who had studied African music, that he is not playing African music? Crazy. So that was Disneyland.
― I GUESS THAT CINNABON GETTIN EATEN (Edward III), Monday, 5 March 2012 20:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
lol wow.
― tylerw, Monday, 5 March 2012 20:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Didn't know Juno Lewis was the one who introduced him. Only other mention of him I've seen is his Coltrane collaboration, "Kulu Se Mama."
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Monday, 5 March 2012 20:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
him = them
I've been given as a gift (!) Vol 2 of the Wrasse records boxsets (mentioned above). It includes the following albums, mostly doubled up 2-per-CD: Monkey BananaExcuse OEverything ScatterNoise For Vendor MouthTeacher Don't Teach Me NonsenseKoola Lobitos 64-68The '69 LA SessionsRoforofo FightThe Fela SinglesConfusionGentlemanShakaraFela's London SceneExpensive ShitHe Miss RoadStalemateFear Not For Man
I only have a passing knowledge of Fela and am enjoying digging into this. "Expensive Shit" is on right now - wonderful.
― Duke, Sunday, 1 April 2012 19:04 (1 year ago) Permalink
expensive shit/he miss road are his two greatest LPs IMHO, closely followed by the Ginger Baker album
― Nascar Pony (stevie), Monday, 2 April 2012 06:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
hoping E3 continues his liveblog thru Fela's discography
― Year of the RMDE (loves laboured breathing), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 13:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
nascar pony 100% OTM.
― stirmonster, Tuesday, 3 April 2012 16:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
I will probably stan harder for No Agreement, but I love He Miss Road and Expensive Shit lots!
― Year of the RMDE (loves laboured breathing), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 17:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
nonono my name is STEVIE
― Nascar Pony (stevie), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 19:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
and thank you
yeah I guess I should catch you guys up huh
― diamanda ram dass (Edward III), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 21:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
I just dig readin about it, man
― Year of the RMDE (loves laboured breathing), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 22:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
Laurie & I saw Seun a couple of weeks ago and it was really really good even though he was a bit sick from the brutal NW weather
that guy playing the shaker gourd was killin it
― Flat Of NAGLs (sleeve), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 03:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
new Fela live album 3xCD is awesome-- not prime era material, it's all late 80s era, but still fantastic and fun
― ilxor, Sunday, 29 April 2012 15:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
Wrasse are finally releasing the second vinyl box set in a few weeks time..
Curated by Ginger Baker, it will include...
Live With Ginger Baker (1971)Roforofo Fight (1972)Confusion (1974)Alagbon Close (1974)He Miss Road (1975)Na Poi (1976)
looking forward to finally getting some of these on vinyl without paying stupid prices...
― Talcum Mucker, Wednesday, 5 September 2012 19:32 (8 months ago) Permalink
Ginger Baker record is killer
― chicago rap twitter luminary (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 5 September 2012 19:33 (8 months ago) Permalink
^^
― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 5 September 2012 19:56 (8 months ago) Permalink
There's this weird doc streaming on Netflix right now called Ginger Baker in Africa.
― Trip Maker, Wednesday, 5 September 2012 20:16 (8 months ago) Permalink
contains my three favourite fela albums - live with ginger baker, he miss road and na poi. i hope they release them separately too so i can get alagbon close.
i have the ginger baker in africa dvd. it's ok, if a little on the short side.
― stirmonster, Wednesday, 5 September 2012 21:20 (8 months ago) Permalink
Confusion is such a monster
― rob, Wednesday, 5 September 2012 21:51 (8 months ago) Permalink
the Ginger Baker in Africa DVD is worthwhile for the Fela footage alone, but its the live snippet of Segun Bucknor's Sweet Things that makes the film for me... They must have shot loads more footage of those live performances - wonder what happened to it all...
― Talcum Mucker, Thursday, 6 September 2012 16:19 (8 months ago) Permalink
Segun Bucknor is so under-rated...
yeah that doc is great. is that the one that has the cartoon bit of Ginger traipsing around the continent? very lol
and yeah Segun Bucknor sequence is o_0
― stop swearing and start windmilling (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 6 September 2012 16:32 (8 months ago) Permalink
segun bucknor is wonderful!
― Trad., Arrrgh (stevie), Thursday, 6 September 2012 17:25 (8 months ago) Permalink