Today’s (late) Monday Music Mention takes us a little back in time to Lagos, Nigeria. It’s the late 70′s and James Brown and P-Funk have swept the world over with their infectious African-based funk and space-disco, and Fela Kuti has firmly established his dominance in the albeit still underground Afro-beat scene. As Oil money began pouring into Lagos throughout the 70′s, a nightlife culture was slowly established, and with any booming nightlife scene comes music. Both EMI as well as Decca both set up studios with vintage equipment handed down from Europe, and in fact EMI’s resident producer in Lagos, Emmanuel Odenusi, worked with Fela Kuti during his ascension to prominence. With raw gritty talent and seasoned studio veterans, a sweaty breed of Afro-beat, disco, and funk sprung forth from this fertile mixture.
So why all the history? Voodoo Funk, a fantastic blog specializing in African roots and funk, has just put out a compilation of Lagos funk, called Lagos Disco Inferno, that has sadly sold out for now. The records that were thrown together here were found in these conditions:
It’s a beautiful compilation of music I have never heard of but want to dig deeper into. Here’s a sample clip from the album:
This track is Boogie Trip by Doris Ebong.
Dig Deeper: Voodoo Funk’s info on the album
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