I found the T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo on gomad and crazed's recommendation.

Korikori is my new favorite song. Sooooo good. I love the happy major progressions that detour to minor every once in a while. Something I was trying to write in a song for quite a while. great stuff.

Much thanks!!!

so far i've only gotten around to discovering Fela Kuti. i enjoy listening to him every once in a while, a pleasant change from the usual rock or hip hop i tend to prefer. but i must admit that my attention span for those 10+ minute songs lacks focus so i don't listen to it as much as i'd want to.

i really should take the time to find some other stuff. i regularly come to this thread to try to learn about new stuff.

EDIT: hold on....is there are difference between afro-beat and afro-funk? to me Fela Kuti could be considered both....anyway

quote:

Originally posted by vitunkrapula:
I found the T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo on gomad and crazed's recommendation.

Korikori is my new favorite song. Sooooo good. I love the happy major progressions that detour to minor every once in a while. Something I was trying to write in a song for quite a while. great stuff.

Much thanks!!!

Glad you enjoyed the album, v. The same label, Soundway, has released some great stuff, particularly the two Ghana Soundz comps and a collection of funk from Panama (which begs for a second volume).

quote:

EDIT: hold on....is there are difference between afro-beat and afro-funk? to me Fela Kuti could be considered both....anyway

I'm probably wrong but I've always assumed Afro-beat (named by Fela) to be the main genre and Afro-funk, Afro-rock, Afro-pop, etc to be subgenres. Afro-beat is a mix of jazz and highlife. Fela's early recordings were more jazz than funk.

Been diggin' the Orchestra Baobab comp, Night At Club Baobab recently. An excellent collection of Senegalese dance/funk music from the '70s. Recorded live at Club Baobab, the sound varies from fair to very good. There's a very nice Latin beat to many of these songs which makes a fantastic mix when the Afro-beat is poured on. Tracks I enjoyed most: "Kelen Ati Leen", "On Verra", "Yolanda" and "Souleymane". Not every song is dance/funk oriented, there's also a mellow jazz vibe here and there. But overall a very soulful album.

There's somewhere near 20 volumes of the Ethiopiques series released so far. Ethiopiques- the Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves from the Legendary Series is a double cd set collection featuring some of the best selections from the series. There's some Afro-beat here but mostly jazz with a strong Afro or Afro-Latin beat. "Yekermo Sew" by Mulatu Astatqe is easily my favorite track. Some of the volumes of the series are certainly better than others (in sound quality, too) and some are compiled by a certain theme (live tracks, newly recorded songs, etc). So, this album is no doubt the best starting place for checking out a very worthwhile scene of African music.

quote:

Originally posted by crazed:
There's somewhere near 20 volumes of the Ethiopiques series released so far. Ethiopiques- the Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves from the Legendary Series is a double cd set collection featuring some of the best selections from the series. There's some Afro-beat here but mostly jazz with a strong Afro or Afro-Latin beat. "Yekermo Sew" by Mulatu Astatqe is easily my favorite track. Some of the volumes of the series are certainly better than others (in sound quality, too) and some are compiled by a certain theme (live tracks, newly recorded songs, etc). So, this album is no doubt the best starting place for checking out a very worthwhile scene of African music.

just listened to The Very Best of Ethipiques and though i liked "Yekermo Sew" (i felt like i'd already heard that beat somewhere) i prefered the more up-tempo tunes especially "Tchero Adari Negn" by Alèmayèhu Eshèté

was skimming through african music at the record store on my lunch break today and stumbled upon the comp Soundz of Ghana vol. 2 and bought it, remembering Crazed having talked about it. Listened to it this afternoon at work and loved it! excellent through and through. Thanx Crazed!

afro-beat is having a big impact on the indie music scene right now. i am curious as to what bands anyone is listening to that are exhibiting afro-beat tendencies, or showing this influence.

quote:

Originally posted by brainofp:
[just listened to The Very Best of Ethipiques and though i liked "Yekermo Sew" (i felt like i'd already heard that beat somewhere) i prefered the more up-tempo tunes especially "Tchero Adari Negn" by Alèmayèhu Eshèté

I freakin love that song too. So funky and James Brown-y.

quote:

afro-beat is having a big impact on the indie music scene right now. i am curious as to what bands anyone is listening to that are exhibiting afro-beat tendencies, or showing this influence.

I concur. I also think that eastern sounds are finally coming to light on the scene as well. I mean we're at war or wish we could finance a war with half of the middle east - it's about time we learned what they listen to, right?

I think we've been passing something hot back and forth to and from africa over the decades. First (that I know of) was James Brown. According to the liner notes and the Afro-Baby comp I have, most Afrobeaters are also obsessed with James Brown. And then there was Fela Kuti, JB's long lost Nigerian brother. I'm sure there are many Fela Kuti tributes out there, but my favorite is the first track on Common's Like Water for Chocolate. Fela's son Femi guests, along with a couple other pertinent guests whose names escape me at the moment.

Some more current bands:

Nomo
Antibalas
the Budos Band
Sunburned Hand of the Man

I would also wager that the members of Battles and Holy Fuck are afrobeat fans.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: V,

Currently on my first go-round of what I assume is the debut release from AIFF ( Afro Influenced Funk Federation). The Afro-funk this Dutch band serves up has strong soul & jazz leanings (best exemplified by the instrumental track, "Water Girls"). So far, I'm enjoying the non-vocal numbers best. The singing is nice though the vocal songs often lean more towards neo-soul than funk or Afro-funk. Hope to hear more from AIFF in the future, and it's always nice to have more modern Afrobeat out there (not that I'd ever tire of Antibalas or Kokolo).

i listened to "beaten metal" by antibalas today at work about 10 times. such a great song!

The current crop of New York based "Afrofunk" bands such as Antibalas leave me quite cold feeling much too precise and perfect to be truly funky. I think part of the problem is that these bands look almost exclusively to Fela Kuti as the holy grail of Afrofunk and he had already incorporated substantial polished New World elements into his music leaving it already a little to slick (after the early 70's) for my taste. If anyone out there is looking for something a little dirtier, something truly funky along the lines of Benin's Orchestre Poly-Rythmo I suggest this site:

http://www.analogafrica.blogspot.com/

The album African Scream Contest
Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s
14 tracks compilation available on CD and double vinyl (Release Date February 2008)

(Four of the cuts involve Orchestre Poly-Rythmo)

I only have mp3's of 5 of the 14 songs (all good) but judging by the samples on his site the other 9 are also all choice cuts. I can't wait till February, I'm sure this one will remain one of my favourite releases of 2008.

Another mouthwatering February release - This time Nigerian 70's gems from Soundway

http://matsuli.blogspot.com/2008/01/severe-naija-jams.html

Thanks for your updates, gomad361, I'm particularly looking forward to picking-up the Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds collection.

Picked up on a copy of Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds, & Nigerian Blues 1970 to 1976 a week or so ago. A fantastic, mind-blowing collection on Soundway records. This is one of the best compilations of Afro-beat I've heard in years. There's no weak tracks, it's all killer stuff, and mostly vocal selections (though my favorite piece is the instrumental, "Ugali" by the Tony Benson Sextet). Other top favorite numbers here include "Eme Kowa Iasa Ile Wa" by Mono Mono, "Opotopo (Easy Kabaka Brown)" by Belema, and the knock-out chiller, "Okwukwe Na Nchekwube" from Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National. Absolutely essential.

quote:

Originally posted by gomad361:
The album African Scream Contest
Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s
14 tracks compilation available on CD and double vinyl (Release Date February 2008)

I've been anxious to hear this comp, and just noticed it's now available at Dusty Groove. Looks pretty wild and so far no Afro collection has ever disappointed me.

I just got this, as my intro to the genre. Looking forward to tasting it.

quote:

Originally posted by It's Mike:
I just got this, as my intro to the genre. Looking forward to tasting it.

That's a great album, Mike, hope you enjoy it.

Nigeria Disco Funk Special -- The Sound Of The Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974 to 1979

Very nice Afro-funk collection, though I think having "disco" in the title is misleading. It may be "lite-funk" in spots but not disco. The Sahara All Stars track is a fanastic opener. My favorite vocal songs here are Johnny Haastrup's "Greetings" and Bongos Ikwue & the Groovies' "You've Gotta Help Yourself". The disc is actually cheaper at amazon than Dusty Groove.

I picked that up last weekend. I heard just a bit at a friend's house afterwards, but I've been too busy to give it a thorough spin. I'm sure it will be worthwhile at the very least, considering Soundway's(s'?) track record with me.