NIGERIA SPECIAL: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds
& Nigerian Blues 1970-76
NIGERIA DISCO FUNK SPECIAL: The Sound of the Underground Lagos
Dancefloor, 1974-1979
NIGERIA ROCK SPECIAL: Psychedelic Afro-Rock and Fuzz Funk in 1970s
Nigeria
If you have been lucky enough to hear the recently
released Nigeria Special, I’m sure you must be amazed at how
a small UK based label has managed to get such an authentic feel for a
foreign music. Well there is a reason for this…
Although compiled and sequenced by Soundway boss Miles Cleret, who himself has spent much
time in Nigeria, behind the scenes were in fact some of the original
artists who actually feature on the releases. If you take a closer look
at the end credits on the sleeve notes, you will find ‘many
thanks to’ Laolu Akins and Berkley Jones of Blo, Joni
Haastrup of Mono Mono, and Victor Uwaifo. All legends of modern
Nigerian Music.
All these people became involved with Cleret over
his many years of researching his way to the roots of modern Nigerian
Music. As Cleret confesses, without them the releases would not have
possible (or at least would have been inferior), so like West African
music itself, the Nigeria Special Series is part of a communal creative
process.
This is something really special about West African music and musicians
that Cleret is not the first to discover. On the main Nigeria Special Fansite
there are two embedded YouTube videos, one of which is also included
here.
(See full post for embed)
Cleret is in fact another in a line of open and progressive music
enthusiasts who have traveled to Nigeria and been fortunate enough to
make friends and collaborate with the musicians there (other famous
guests include Brian Eno). What makes Cleret’s arrival
fascinating though is that he went to Nigeria as a DJ and ended up
influenced by musicians. It is this that makes the Nigeria Special
series so special, a modern outlook up front, but with the original
knowledge behind.
Diggin in Nigeria takes you far deeper than just dusty record shops and
boot sales.
Timjim