― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:34 (4 years ago) Permalink
― so;dglkn, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 20:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 21:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Mitya (mitya), Thursday, 29 December 2005 02:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 29 December 2005 03:16 (4 years ago) Permalink
you don't even need to YSI, just a heads up on what/where it is. Don't tell me this guy only did two scorcher funk singles and then dropped off the face of the earth..
― .- \(O_o)/-' (mookie wilson), Thursday, 29 December 2005 03:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
― ZR (teenagequiet), Thursday, 29 December 2005 14:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
William Onyeabor - Better Change Your Mind 8.13
Taken from the Wilfilms Records LP Atomic Bomb (WRLP 1002). Composed and Arranged by William Onyeabor. Publishing: Copyright Control 1978 Wilfilms Records Ltd. Licensed courtesy of William Onyeabor. Personnel unknown.
William Onyeabor studied cinematography in Russia for many years, returning to Nigeria in the mid-70s to start his own Wilfilms music label and to set up a music and film production studio. He recorded a number of hit songs in Nigeria during the 70s, the biggest of which was "Atomic Bomb" in 1978. "Better Change Your Mind" is taken from the same album, and, as well as slating the power-crazed nations of the world, the second half settles into a unique slice of stripped down spacey, lo-fi funk which is unlike any other Nigerian music being made at the time. William has now been crowned a High Chief in Enugu, where he lives today as a successful businessman working on government contracts and running his own flour mill.
― ZR (teenagequiet), Friday, 30 December 2005 14:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 30 December 2005 21:00 (4 years ago) Permalink
ace cover art, he looks almost like a one man band:
― brokeback titty sanskrit (sanskrit), Sunday, 22 January 2006 23:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://cgi.ebay.com/WILLIAM-ONYEABOR-BOOGIE-FUNK-AFRO-FUNK-SOUNDCLIPS_W0QQitemZ4847179581QQcategoryZ306QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
― gritty sanskrit (sanskrit), Sunday, 12 March 2006 20:51 (4 years ago) Permalink
that is not a cheesy dj remix! it's by the scientist and it rocks!
― elan, Sunday, 25 November 2007 02:52 (2 years ago) Permalink
lol @ myself two years ago. actually atomic bomb surfaces quite a bit, but at o_O prices.
this record is even more insane, check out the sound samples before the guy pulls them:
http://cgi.ebay.com/William-Onyeabor-Anything-RARE-80s-Nigerian-funk_W0QQitemZ160192380709QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageNameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:101
― sanskrit, Thursday, 3 January 2008 22:09 (2 years ago) Permalink
for posterity's sake:
William Onyeabor - Anything you sow Stupid rare mid 80s Nigerian proto detroit techno funk... private pressing! Label: Wilfilms WLP033 Year: 1985/1986?
Detroit techno / electro recorded in Nigeria in the mid 1980's on analog synths? Sounding like it comes straight off the latest M.I.A. record? Yes that's what this is all about... add in some sweet female singer choruses and the moralistic lyrics of mr Onyeabor, and you got an essential record that is waiting to be rediscovered and compiled! This album NEVER shows up so here is your one chance to own it.
You may know William Onyeabor from his tracks on afro funk compilations such as the great jam 'Better change your mind' which appeared on Nigeria 70 and on 'World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's a Real Thing'. The original album 'Atomic bomb' is a popular and expensive item on Ebay. His lp's are hard to find as he released them on his own record label, Wilfilms. Another of his records that shows up sometimes is 'Tomorrow'. Both albums are heavy afro disco boogie bombs.
William Onyeabor has released at least one more record though, and it's so obscure that I haven't found any references in google or previous Ebay sales. 'Atomic bomb' was already an experimental album on which Onyeabor plays around with his collection of synths. But on 'Anything you sow' he really goes all-out to create a musical landscape that proved to be far ahead of its time.
The album cover (which looks more like mid 70s) shows Onyeabor behind a huge collection of synths and other hardware, including the Moog which was an expensive gear at the time. On this album, the music is all produced with analog synths, even percussion.
The effect is mind blowing... 20 years down the line its clear that Onyeabor was way ahead of his time, the sounds he created here are unlike anything else I have heard coming from Africa. It's more closely related to Detroit techno or electro but in reality he may just have been influenced by Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra and the like. The slight 'out of this world' sound of the fragile synth (Moog, Elka etc) melodies are accentuated by the sweet chants of William and his background singers. This piece of vinyl is just waiting to be sampled or re-edited, it would fit nicely on a Moodymann or Theo Parrish re-edit 12 inch. Three out of four tracks are in this style, the fourth is a ballad which is less interesting. Just check out the audio samples above.
Tracklist A1. When the going is smooth & good A2. This kind of world B1. Anything you sow B2. Everyday
― sanskrit, Thursday, 3 January 2008 22:14 (2 years ago) Permalink
wow. i would have bid on that. maybe not 124 dollars, though.
― elan, Thursday, 3 January 2008 23:17 (2 years ago) Permalink
it would fit nicely on a Moodymann or Theo Parrish re-edit 12 inch
yeah, judging from those samples this is true.
― sanskrit, Friday, 4 January 2008 02:36 (2 years ago) Permalink
-- elan, Thursday, 3 January 2008 23:17 (4 months ago) Link
lol that shit finished at like $300 actually. and the audio samples were beardo as fuck.
― sanskrit, Thursday, 8 May 2008 01:05 (2 years ago) Permalink
this thread is like a time capsule for me
this went for $100
-- brokeback titty sanskrit (sanskrit), Sunday, January 22, 2006 6:55 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Link
LOL am i pretend britishes?
― sanskrit, Thursday, 8 May 2008 01:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
ok, another has surfaced, this time with music samples:
-- gritty sanskrit (sanskrit), Sunday, March 12, 2006 3:51 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Link
so a month ago i got a clean Atomic Bomb off a french dude on eBay. wasn't cheap but wasn't painful. the weird thing is i have listened to Better Change Your Mind so many times over the years that it was not that big a deal. Beautiful Baby is totally different than on an iPod. what was once overly long turned into a lilting ballad that is far too short.
― sanskrit, Thursday, 8 May 2008 01:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
btw i am not a breakhead
btw this revive is courtesy of a Body and Soul Scientist remix that i missed on dmr's blog. like 2 years later it appears in my open slsk window.
― sanskrit, Thursday, 8 May 2008 01:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
I just downloaded the Atomic Bomb LP. You can find it easily if you look. Sound quality not very good though
― Billy Pilgrim, Thursday, 8 May 2008 01:29 (2 years ago) Permalink
that's what hipped me to onyeabor
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 02:05 (2 years ago) Permalink
btw, does anything you sow ever pop up on slsk?
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 02:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
youtube clip from "when the going is smooth and good": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HleCMcs_ybg
this deserves wider exposure
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 02:26 (2 years ago) Permalink
-- sanskrit, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 9:05 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link
oh damn dude that is the very audio clip from the auction. or the buyer shared it (yeah right). smart move someone moved it to a youtube for momentary posterity.
― sanskrit, Thursday, 8 May 2008 03:07 (2 years ago) Permalink
it sold for like $17 on dutch ebay in march
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 03:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
judging by all the youtube and forum comments about "when the going is smooth & good", it seems to have been a nigerian radio hit. the album is apparently available from street vendors (on cassette, i guess). so why can i not find it anywhere?
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 15:02 (2 years ago) Permalink
are you sure it didn't go for 17 euros? because that is about $300 american.
― sanskrit, Thursday, 8 May 2008 21:11 (2 years ago) Permalink
oh, you're right. 16.75 euro. that's still only $25.79 at today's exchange rate.
http://cgi.benl.ebay.be/William-Onyeabor-Afro-proto-techno-Nigeria-LP-LISTEN_W0QQitemZ160220584129QQihZ006QQcategoryZ1582QQcmdZViewItem
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 22:32 (2 years ago) Permalink
if i knew dutch i might make the winner an offer....
i don't know about grading record sleeves, so if that cover isn't actually G-, i could see the price dropping. but a G- record grade would sound like that cover looks, so maybe the seller knows what's up.
― elan, Thursday, 8 May 2008 22:34 (2 years ago) Permalink
he posted it for me! i didn't see it for one (1) month!
http://combandrazor.blogspot.com/2008/05/for-leo.html
― elan, Tuesday, 17 June 2008 21:11 (2 years ago) Permalink
the hi-hats do something amazing in the sixth minute. this is the bomb.
― elan, Tuesday, 17 June 2008 21:18 (2 years ago) Permalink
this is sick: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140278397762
my rss hasn't seen that title in four yearssick sound clip, and my snipe won't even register now / won't meet reserve anyway
― sanskrit, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 18:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
every couple months i'll trawl through the blogs in hopes that more of his stuff has surfaced (beyond the Atomic Bomb lp and two or three other scratchy tracks), but still no luck. and the copies that do show up on ebay seem to go way outside my budget. i'm led to believe some of his records were hits in Nigeria, so how hard can it be to get/hear more of his stuff? guh.
― grey davies (city worker), Friday, 28 August 2009 18:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
well, this is at least something http://dailyleftover.blogspot.com/2009/12/tribute-to-william-onyeabor.html
― city worker, Tuesday, 26 January 2010 16:27 (7 months ago) Permalink
really enjoying this, thanks. so far i'd only been able to find the atomic bomb LP.
it seems he released at least 8 LPs (Discogs plus Crashes in Love), meaning we (I) have heard roughly 14 of 32 total tracks. which is not too bad for some Nigerian private press stuff. only 1982's Hypertension seems to be completely unrepresented.
it would be very nice to have this on vinyl in all its artifact-y goodness, but yeah those prices are crazy.
― fakeducks, Tuesday, 26 January 2010 20:11 (7 months ago) Permalink
Here is a link to this William Onyeabor's "Atomic Bomb" CD.Check it Out!
http://www.myafricanbargains.com/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/23717/subcatid/0/id/464161
― MyAfricanBargains, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 01:33 (3 months ago) Permalink
Just got this email:
Question: do you guys still sell many 12"? The reason I am asking is because Luaka Bop will be releasing a CD by William Onyeabor in the early part of next year. But here's the dilemma - the songs are like 12 minutes long each. We are thinking about releasing them on a group of 12" singles one release after another (collect 'em all!) and then compiling everything on a CD for a slightly later release.
― factcheckr, Friday, 13 August 2010 17:54 (3 weeks ago) Permalink