Who can school me on William Onyeabor?

the CD box set is not terribly expensive.

will these be remastered i.e. did they actually locate the tapes or are these just going to be fancy needledrops?

that comp must have sold pretty damn well, btw, if they're going all-out like this.

Xpost I hope they're sourced from the original tapes because the mp3s that I've been able to find are needledrops from really scratchy records

xp i think the touring show is doing well

my interest in onyeabor is well piqued thanks to the comp but i think 9 cds is a bit excessive as a next step

it's me, I'm the guy who pre-ordered both of the vinyl box sets. (Who Is William Onyeabor? was a transcendent record for me and the live show absolutely blew me away, so it was an easy buy.)

the comp sounded great, so I can't imagine that they're going to put out a bunch of scratchy-ass needledrops. at least I sure hope not.

but i think 9 cds is a bit excessive as a next step

I'm in the same position but 9 CDs seems like a GREAT next step because that comp rules.

Yeeeeep

I've got all of the "albums". Most of them have only 4 or 5 songs on them and come in around the half hour mark (apart from Atomic Bomb where nearly all the tracks are 7 or 8 minutes long (or longer) so 9 CDs is not that excessive.

There's also 2 versions of the same album (Crashes In Love) which he released a couple of years apart.

live show absolutely blew me away

Agreed that the BAM show was very special. Unabashedly joyful. I was on the fence about the lp boxsets but will probably take the plunge.

i don't really see how it is "excessive" given that it's most of his discography and i assume people are interested in the whole discography... i also assume that the albums will be "unbundled" and released separately at some point, as these things always are.

still curious to know if these are going to be very professionally done needledrops or what. the versions out there in the blogosphere are pretty scratchy, but i've almost grown fond of that aspect of them.

you don't get why i wouldn't want to spend $15 rather than $50?

huh?

there's already a best-of comp. that came out last year.

?

ok. i bought the best of. i liked it. i would like to explore some more william onyeabor because i liked the best of. but i don't want to buy his entire discography for the princely sum of $50. guess i am just a big old weirdo!

$chooled

#brokeboi

there's only like two great songs on the Who Is comp, anyhow. if the albums have more stuff like "good name", i'm in. But if it's just more rote amateurish afrobeat ehhhh i'll pass.

sorry, i meant rote amateurish afrobeat with ~zany synths~

This is probably one of his best tracks that didn't make the comp (apart from the vinyl version):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Yb7NAEft8

there's only like two great songs on the Who Is comp, anyhow. if the albums have more stuff like "good name", i'm in. But if it's just more rote amateurish afrobeat ehhhh i'll pass.

what's the other great song (besides good name) in your opinion? i happen to love them all but i also don't think of him as someone who was trying to make afrobeat music

it's gotta be atomic bomb right? that's my fave.

"Body and soul" is the other one I like. Don't like "Atomic Bomb" at all.

Hot Chip's cover of atomic bomb is the best thing from this compilation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59aXNmdUIPw

Been a big fan of his music since listening to him on the Nigeria 70 compilation. If I were a producer I would keep sampling his music, has anyone famous done it? It shouldn't be long. 'Better change your mind' and "body and soul" are very sample-worthy.

I don't love the original 'atomic bomb' but Hot Chip's version changed my mind.

I'm vice versa: love the original and the hot chip version made me question what it was about the song that moved me in the first place. then i relistened to onyeabor's version and remembered.

Weren't they going to do a "Deluxe" 2CD version of the comp with the vinyl only tracks included, or was that idea dropped? Also it is a slightly odd release strategy to go from just that to pushing out all his albums as large box sets.

Anyway - 'Something You Will Never Forget' is one of the more "afrobeat" of the tracks on the comp and it's bloody brilliant, amauterish or not.

How can you not like 'Atomic Bomb'?!?! What?!

(By which I mean the original. The very words "Hot Chip version" make me cringe.)

"When the going is smooth..." track posted above is amazing. thanks for posting it.

good name > when the going is smooth&good > everything else

and so on and so forth

Hahaha emily, I didn't say I didn't like it I said I didn't love it. I do like it, but I prefer other songs by him.

I'd like to clear that I am not a Hot Chip fan and I do not endorse any of their albums.

are you now or have you ever been a fan of Hot Chip?

i LIKE hot chip! just don't like that version of the song.

Atomic bomb: Out of tune, weak hook, just generally weak and boring

I like Atomic Bomb, but I feel like it's sequenced weirdly on the comp. Like it should come in later, after you've had a couple more tunes of uptempo funkiness.

are you now or have you ever been a fan of Hot Chip?

― I dunno. (amateurist), viernes 10 de octubre de 2014 21:10 (YesterdaY)

I've never been a fan but I do like some of their early singles like crap kraft dinner and playboy and a few of the warning.

as someone who has all his records, i'd like to say 1) his music is NOT afrobeat, 2) there are so many gems in the back catalogue that it's almost ridiculous and 3) if anyone has a problem with anything he does being out of tune (which it often is!), then really, give up now as you are completely and utterly missing the point.

The out of tune and crap production is part of his charm!

oh gosh, the point is it sounds zany, i get it. it's mainly atomic bomb that's just so egregiously out of tune to the point where i can't ignore it/focus on the sound/vibe or whatever.

lo fi production is fine.

and i thought afrobeat was funky music from nigeria with unison horns and chanting and stuff, which a lot of this is??

i think of afrobeat as a more funk-based music which onyeabor is not

Yeah I described him as afro-space-disco-soul to someone which is not accurate really but I couldn't think of a better description.

wtf original 'Atomic Bomb' is best track on the comp

chacun a sonyeabor

Holy smokes!! A box set!
http://luakabop.com/news/william-onyeabor-lpcd-box-set-out-1118-2/

Who can school me on William Onyeabor?

Schooled.

i can't figure out if they actually had access to master tapes or if these are just slick needledrops.

Are you listening to the CDs? Maybe the guy in Milan had the tapes.