Frankoye ‎– On Campus Life

Nigerian afro beat LP released in 1989 

but sounds tough like 70's Fela. 

Tracklist

A		Campus Life
B		Official Robbery

Frankoye - Campus Life - afrofunkamelick from afrofunkamelick on Vimeo.

Geraldo Pino

 

Fela Kuti quoted: 

 

"I was playing highlife jazz wenn Geraldo Pino came to town in ’66 or a bit earlier, with soul. He came to town with James Brown’s music…and with such equipment you’ve never seen, man. This man was tearing Lagos to pieces. Woooooooooh, man. He had Nigeria in his pocket. Made me fall right on my ass!"

 

When he appeared at the Barbican in London last May, the singer, guitarist and bandleader Geraldo Pino, who has died aged 69, revealed himself as one of the forgotten fathers of African popular music. He had a major influence on west Africa's soul, funk and Afrobeat scene in the 1960s and 70s, and made a huge impression on the young Fela Kuti, yet his music had been largely unheard for the past 30 years.

Born and raised as Gerald Pine in Freetown, Sierra Leone, he was the son of a Nigeria-based lawyer and lost his mother and sister at an early age. Rebelling against his background, he started playing music at a social club and co-founded the Heartbeats at the start of the 1960s, playing covers of American hits and Congolese versions of rumba, then sweeping west Africa. The most famous Congolese musicians were Franco and Dr Nico, whose names inspired Gerald Pine to turn into the exotic "Geraldo Pino".

Playing Freetown nightclubs such as the Flamingo, Palm Beach and Tiwana, the Heartbeats became one of the highest earning bands in west Africa, and when television was introduced in Sierra Leone in 1962, Pino and the Heartbeats had their own show. In early 1963 they cut their first records - including Maria Lef For Waka, Heartbeats Merengue and Zamzie - which were released on his own Pino Records label. Zamzie is still used by Voice of America as a signature tune.

Africa was alive with dance music in those optimistic, post-colonial days and the Heartbeats provided a sophisticated, internationalised sound which began to challenge the ubiquitous highlife. Pino was also a great manager, promoter and businessman. Touring Ghana and Nigeria (1965-67), he was very much the playboy pop star, with a Pontiac convertible, flashy clothes and, most importantly, hardware unheard of in Africa at that time: imported amplifiers pumping out the sound of his electronic instruments and a six-microphone PA system.

Pino had the stage presence to match, impressing women and men equally. Among his 1960s and 70s hits were Power to the People, Give Me Ganja, Let Them Talk and Make Me Feel Good.
He impressed Fela Kuti (then still Ransome Kuti) when he played Lagos, Nigeria. At the time the Nigerian was playing jazzy highlife while Pino arrived with James Brown's style of music and formidable equipment. "He had all Nigeria in his pocket," Fela said in 1982. "Made me fall right on my ass, man."

Pino returned to Nigeria in 1967, and later that year took up a residency at the Ringway hotel, Accra, Ghana. The original Heartbeats broke up at the end of the decade and he recruited Ghanaians for the new Heartbeats 72 from a psychedelic band, the Plastic Jims. In the 70s they played west African concerts alongside Jimmy Cliff, Rufus Thomas and Manu Dibango. Pino's records made him famous as far away as Kenya.

In 1969 he settled in Nigeria and never left, buying a TV station and the Airport hotel in the city of Port Harcourt. There he introduced up-and-coming Camerounian musicians and played with Fela Kuti. In 2005 two of his albums were reissued, bringing his sounds to a new generation. In London last year, he played again with former Heartbeats drummer and arranger Francis Fuster, and despite failing health acquitted himself well.

Pino had cancer and was diabetic. A Port Harcourt paper reported that he was being treated for "a mere pain on the foot when he finally gave up the ghost". Pino never married, though he is believed to have fathered several children.

Geraldo Pino (Gerald Pine), musician, born 10 February 1939; died 10 November 2008.

theguardian.com

Mansion - Devil Woman

HARD TO FIND AFRO ROCK/ FUNK  LP from 1976 on CLOVER Records, Nigeria CXL 2003.




Tracklist

A1		The Love Song
A2		Devil Woman
A3		Don't Take That Love Away From Me
B1		Heaven Is Here On Earth
B2		You Can't Stop Us
B3		The Great Question

William Onyeabor - Who Is William Onyeabor?

LUAKA BOP BECOMES THE FIRST RECORD LABEL TO SUCCESSFULLY LICENSE WILLIAM ONYEABOR, THE MYSTERIOUS, WIDELY BOOTLEGGED NIGERIAN ARTIST.

Luaka Bop will celebrate Its 25th anniversary with World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? and related collaborations with Dam-Funk, Devendra Banhart, Justin Strauss, Caribou, John Talabot and Others

"The world might just be better off not hearing [Onyeabor's "Atomic Bomb"], which will burrow and propagate its seed exponentially by the second, into the hearts and souls of all humanity. It's the catchiest song I've ever heard; when it gets in my brain, I can't sleep...He's a mythical character from Nigeria." 
Devendra Banhart in Uncut

"Anyone out there who is making music at the moment...will be quite excited by this..." 
Damon Albarn on BBC Radio One

"LCD Soundsystem sounds like an American William Onyeabor."
Peaking Lights

"Talked to Luaka Bop about details of the William Onyeabor comp they are working on...Gonna blow minds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Four Tet

"People are really going to freak out!"
Caribou

Through its World Psychedelic Classics series, Luaka Bop has succeeded at introducing long-forgotten artists including Os Mutantes, Shuggie Otis and Tim Maia to the world at large. 

William Onyeabor is as obscure as these other artists were before their Luaka Bop releases, although his recordings from the '70s and '80s are beloved by die-hard record collectors and artists such as Damon Albarn, Devendra Banhart, Four Tet and Caribou, to name a few. The music ranges from synth-heavy electronic dance music to Afrosoul with saxophones and female backup singers, to psychedelic funk with wah-wah guitar and fuzzy keyboards—and often combines all of these elements.

In spite of Onyeabor's cult following, Luaka Bop is the first label to successfully license his catalog, and on October 15 will release World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor?

The vinyl release comprises 13 tracks spanning Onyeabor's body of work and will include artwork by John Akomfrah, Njideka Akunyili, Harrison Haynes, Dave Muller, Odili Donald Odita and Xaviera Simmons. The CD and digital releases will include nine tracks.

Who Is William Onyeabor? may be the most complicated, if also one of the richest, undertakings in Luaka Bop's (rarely straightforward) 25-year history. Following the eight albums Onyeabor self-released between 1978 and 1985, he became a Born-Again Christian, refusing ever to speak about himself or his music again. Various biographies can be found online. Some say he studied cinematography in the Soviet Union and returned to Nigeria in the mid-70s to start his own film company, Wilfilms. Some say he was a lawyer with a degree from a university in Great Britain. Others portray him as a businessman who for years worked on government contracts in Enugu, Nigeria.

By attempting to speak with Onyeabor himself, and by talking to people who seem to have firsthand knowledge, Luaka Bop has been trying to construct an accurate biography of him for the past 18 months...without success.

One thing that's undisputable is that Onyeabor's music is utterly unique and ahead of its time.

luakabop.com 

 

Tabukah ‘X’ ‎– Tabukah ‘X’

Crazy Rare Ghana/ Nigerian Afro Rock/funk . Impossible to find. Mostly Ghanaian band based in Nigeria - Nigeria only release. Check "Finger Toe":




Unforunately also do not have this album, therefore pls contact me to share it ...

Tracklist

A1		Right Thing
A2		Mama I'm Lost
A3		Freaky Chaps
A4		Long Long Way
A5		Finger Toe
B1		Get On The Move
B2		You've Done Me Wrong
B3		Be My Girl (Baby)
B4		Sons Of Tan

Ethiopian Modern Instrumentals hits

Mad grooves from the Ethiopian scene of the 70s -- featuring work by the enigmatic Mulatu, plus some of the other extra-cool artists on that country's groundbreaking soul and funk scene! Mulatu plays Fender Rhodes and organ on his tracks -- grooving with a slow, snakey approach that's almost a bit like the work of Sun Ra, but which also has distinct African touches. The sound here is quite different than the Nigerian funky work of the 70s -- much more laidback and open-ended, with less American influences, and a really unique approach! Titles include ''Yekermo Se'', ''Yegele Tezeta'', ''Munaye'', ''Metche Dershe'', ''Kasalefkut Hulu'', and ''Tezeta'' by Mulatu Astatque, ''Heywete'' and ''Bemgnot Alnorem'' by Bahta Gebre Heywet, and ''Yetesfa Tezeta'' by Tesfa-Maryam Kidane. Vinyl release of tracks pulled from the Ethiopiques CD-only series, done with some good notes.

 

 

Tony Grey And The Black Kings - Congratulations

Tracklist

A1		Memories Of Old (When We Were Together)
A2		Congratulations
A3		More Day's
B1		Beautiful Love
B2		Chukwu Dube Ayi
B3		I'Ayi Bili Nudo