I own Nigeria 70: The definitive story of 1970s Funky Lagos once again!
Just over two years ago, this excellent compilation of Nigerian funk and Afrobeat, featuring great artists like Fela Kuti (he called his first band Nigeria 70), was unlawfully removed from my possession.
A British label called Strut Records pulled the anthology together, issuing it in 2001. But when I went hunting for another copy after the theft, I found it had gone under.
Here's some earlier posts:
Oct. 20, 2006 (the most detailed one)
Time went on, no disc showed, and hope steadily diminished. Amazon and eBay didn't help out.
About a month ago, I went to a Nigerian shop on Eglinton west of Oakwood. Richard, the owner, lit up when I told him who was on the disc. "Fela Kuti? I've got to listen to this myself!!" he exclaimed. He offered to contact his buddies in Lagos to see if the disc could be obtained there (the rights to some of this stuff has apparently been obtained by Nigerian labels), but I never heard back.
Then, on June 20, an email showed up from Discogs, bearing the subject line: 1 new item For Sale in your Wantlist.
The wait was almost over.
I paid up through PayPal, crossed my fingers and hoped I didn't get ripped off. The discs arrived from Britain in today's mail, and I'm greatly enjoying the fantastic music they contain as I type this (thanks, Hannah!).
As an update, it appears Strut is back in business. It has a new compilation out: Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump -- Original heavyweight Afrobeat and Afro-funk.
Soundscapes Music has this note about Afrobeat on its website:
African funk fans have truly been spoiled this past year, with three installments of Soundway's Nigeria Special series, Drag City-distro'ed Malian reissue label Yaala Yaala up to their fifth title, and Strut just having released its Lagos Jump single-disc follow-up to the unavailable original Nigeria 70 set (emphasis mine - BD). Having already enticed Afro-fiends with anthologies dedicated to The Green Arrows and Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, Analog Africa dives right in with African Scream Contest's overview of the '70s scene in Benin and Togo, two countries smack-dab between better-documented hotbeds Ghana and Nigeria.
Errol Nazareth, music columnist for CBC Radio's Metro Morning, talked about Nigerian funk compilations in late May:
Three records that recently arrived in stores will give you an idea of the incredible diversity of Nigeria's musical output in the early 70s. They are Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sound of The Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-79, Nigeria Rock Special: Psychedelic Afro-Rock and Fuzz Funk in 1970s Nigeria and Nigeria 70 Lagos Jump: Original Heavyweight Afrobeat, Highlife and Afro-Funk.
It appears I'm not quite done spending money on music this week.
But as a free treat -- and a serendipitous one, considering the disc arrived today -- Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, a 25-piece band that once backed his dad, will be playing Harbourfront this evening at 9 p.m.!
Here's an interview with Seun Kuti at Relix.
There will be another band playing before Seun. From Harbourfront's website:
Seckou Keita SKQ
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 8:00 PM
Hailing from Senegal, Italy, Egypt and The Gambia, The Seckou Keita Quintet are one of the fastest growing, independent bands du jour, who's forthcoming album is already garnering international attention.
I repeat: Free.
Addendum
Here's a June 26 Toronto Star article on SKQ.