py> On that tip, are there any other FELA fans on the list? Having a few
py> of his Africa 70 and Egypt 80 albums, and having caught him live, I
py> have to recommend him to the list.
mike, once again, you're on the ball...
py> I'm not clear on the whole story, but he apparently came to the states
py> as a young man and took *back* to africa what James Brown was doing
py> over here. His grooves are nowhere near as "happy" or "sunny" as, say,
py> what King Sunny Ade or Juluka does. With darker, more minor chord
py> grooves and a *definite* feel for the funk (the 40-piece band doesn't
py> hurt either), he gives great groove.
py> When I saw him live, no song lasted less than 30 minutes.
if you're gonna dance to a fela tune, you had better be in shape!
to all the dj's--fela is great for break music (i.e. a cut to put on when
you want to get some food while you're working--i gets HUNGRY!)
py> He is also an outspoken political activist, and has been both
py> prevented from touring outside Nigeria and jailed there. Check out
py> "Original Sufferhead" for some deep african funk.
something else interesting... on "this is acid jazz, vol. 1" by instinct,
there's
a track called "trinkets & trash" that is VERY fela-ish (7 mins, kinda short
for
fela...) it can also be found on "totally wired 2" by acid jazz.
t-bird