Trane, thanks for posting that Ofege video, I really enjoyed it. First time I've heard/read about them. Like you said, that was very authentic.These Ofege guys from Nigeria never made it out to Europe , so they're even more authentic
Trane, thanks for posting that Ofege video, I really enjoyed it. First time I've heard/read about them. Like you said, that was very authentic.These Ofege guys from Nigeria never made it out to Europe , so they're even more authentic
Two standout tracks from the superb "Legends of Benin" comp on the Analog Africa label.
"please do not understand me too quickly"-andre gide
ah... ok then;
for WAR their masterpiece is The World Is A Ghetto
WAR were a bit more on the Jam Band side of things loooong before that term existed. In fact, if one counts them as part of the Afro Prog sound, they were one of the first with Osibisa, Mandrill and (if you count them) Funkadelic. All of them having their start in the 60s. That's not to say that WAR never created any tight, intricate compositions. That just wasn't their main thing.
Mandrill are a completely different experience. The liner notes of their first album state "recorded in winter 1970" and while one side of the album contains Santana-esque style Afro Prog sounds, the other is a side-long Symphonic Prog suite. Perhaps the first side-long Prog suite ever recorded (unless you count the Moody Blues DoFP, which I think most Prog fans dont) so I'd say start with the first album. But Mandrill would have at least one full-on Prog piece on each of their first 5 albums and that's not to say that the rest of the music on those albums is any less stellar than the Prog pieces. They were insanely tight with intricate compositions and phenomenal Guitar solos by Omar Mesa, blistering Keyboards and Vibraphone work by Claude Cave and the excellent Flute of Carlos Wilson. I do not exaggerate when I say they are the greatest band who never got the recognition they deserved. They mixed African, Jazz, Rock, Latin and Funk together in the most capital P Progressive way imaginable.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
OSIBISA: Do you like African Folk music mixed in a very Progressive way with Rock?
Yes I do! Prog or not, fusion or "world", who give a shit? Osibisa made a few excellent albums, that's for sure!
Zzebra, a British band from the mid seventies, formed by former If and Osibisa members, is also very good.
Osibisa - "In Concert 1972"
1 Beautiful Seven 8:39
2 Spirits Up Above 7:35
3 Y Sharp 7:29
4 The Dawn 7:51
5 Woyaya 5:35
6 Survival 7:54
7 Kokorokoo 6:20
8 Do You Know 8:58
9 Ayiko Bia 7:25
10 Music For Gong Gong 11:23
Tracks 1 to 7: Live at the Paris Theatre, London, February 1972.
Track 8: Mar Y Sol Festival, Puerto Rico, April 4 1972.
Tracks 9 to 10: Klagenfurt, Austria, July 1972.
http://www.discogs.com/Osibisa-In-Co...elease/4635770
A great live document from their prime.
That's the second double live I was speaking of, but the sound is sometimes approximative
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
A few years ago i was at a record show and found Woyaya for some dirt cheap price and grabbed it knowing nothing accept it was obvious that it was a Roger Dean cover and thought it needed to be checked out. To say i was stunned was an understatement, i figured anyone who was a fan of Magma could totally dig on this.
A couple of weeks ago i was at the same record show and scored a pristine German pressing of the first Osibisa with a beautiful glossy gatefold cover, for my money this is some of the best Roger Dean artwork coupled with the music inside, fantastic stuff indeed.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Osibisa was a big influence on the modern band GOAT.
Black Hippies (Nigeria)
Birigwa (Uganda)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Matata (Air Fiesta) from Kenya
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
The Funkees (Nigeria)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Monomono (Nigeria)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
and finally...
SJOB Movement (Nigeria)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
second SJOB album
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
hope you enjoyed an African trip during the 70's...
OK, one more????
Dudu Pukwana (South Africa)
Last edited by Trane; 05-30-2015 at 04:00 PM.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
ooooooppppsss!!!
I almost forgot
Jabula
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
GREAT selections there, Trane!!!!!
Never bought any of their albums but I loved looking at the covers, thumbing through albums at department stores. I do remember seeing them on TV in the early 70s on Don Kirshner or one of those shows.
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