What better way to start off a Naija music weblog than with the legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti? He was perhaps the single most influential musician/artist/activist in Nigeria (arguably the whole of Africa) in the past century (& possibly ever!)

As we know, he’s known for the creation of a unique flavor of Nigerian music that included elements of 60/70’s funk, jazz and local music that he dubbed Afrobeat.

So without further rambling, I present:
Fela and The Africa 70 - Palm Wine Sound - originally a 1977 release on the Fear Not for Man LP, published by the [Decca Afrodisia] record label. It’s a lesser known, fully instrumental track and one of my favorites.

It begins with an organ marking out the sweet melody accompanied by cool guitar rhythms… then the pounding rhythm section jumps in… the track continues to build as the horns come in on top… so sweet! The track continues for over 15 minutes & follows a jazzy, improvization flow with solos from the horns, saxes and organ.

The quality of the groove & the smooth, chillout vibe really makes it a favorite of mine - what a great way to start! Now if only I had some palm wine…

Fela Kuti and the Africa 70 - Palm Wine Sound

(media offline)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 20th, 2005 at 11:27 pm and is filed under afrobeat. You can skip to the end and leave a response.