ORLANDO JULIUS LP DROPS!

Orlando Julius has been a well known name on the West African music scene all through the 1960s and 70s. His early work was recorded in the Philips studios under the strict supervision of their house producers who were putting an emphasis on a pleasant and swinging sound that was jugging along in a pleasant way, bridging big band highlife music with American soul.

In 1972 and 1973, Orlando Julius and his band The Afrosounders visited the legendary ARC Lagos studio of Ginger Baker and what OJ and the gang put to tape there was an entirely different beast: They recorded and album packed with unadulterated, funky Afrobeat of the heaviest caliber.

The soundtrack to the video above is a shortened version of "Aseni", recorded directly from my original vintage vinyl copy. Only a short edit of one out of six long and epic killer tunes which are all included on this record

For the first time, Orlando and the his band were able to really let loose and showcase their full power with an unfiltered impact. They laid down six epic tracks that from a Funk or Afrobeat perspective definitely count as Orlando's strongest work but it seemed that Philips were not too happy with this result. They completely botched the distribution of this record and while Orlando's earlier and later work has all been re-issued over the past years, sometimes multiple times and from various international labels, this, his best record has remained under the radar and virtually unknown to the worldwide community of African music lovers. This was until I was sitting in my friend Damian Iwuagwu's house in Lagos back in January of 2010, drinking a cold Star beer and enjoying the evening when he casually handed me this LP and asked "what about this one, I got this the other day and I don't think I've ever seen it before".

Now this record is re-released with its original artwork and extensive liner notes written by Orlando Julius himself, including loads of great vintage photographs.

from VOODOO FUNK

HOOK-UP SPOTS: AFRO FUSION AT THE SHRINE

FROM TIME OUT CHICAGO

The night starts out innocently enough—a smattering of couples and numerous posses, equally split between guys and gals, hang out while soulful, throwback hip-hop bumps from the house system. But when Nigerian DJ Dee Money settles into the booth around 11pm, the Shrine’s jam-packed Coup D’Etat Lounge erupts into a raging Afro-reggae party. There are no wallflowers to be found among this decidedly straight, African-American crowd; one glance in the right direction and you could find yourself coupled off for a grind straight out of a Lil Weezy video. Don’t be fooled, though: Getting down is one thing, but a man’s got to work a lot harder than that to get the digits, let alone the girl. Turn up the charm or these ladies will be on to the next one faster than you can say Jay-Z. 2109 S Wabash Ave (312-753-5700). Third Saturday of the month. $20. —Joshua P. Ferguson

NEXT AFRO FUSION IS SAT. FEB 19 (W/ Guest DJ Diesel)


SEE THE WHOLE ARTICLE in TIMEOUT.

NU SKOOL AFRO BEAT

This compilation (Tramp) focuses on the contemporary international Afro Beat scene. The spirit of Fela is heard and felt, but combined with newer sounds for modern generation. On CD and vinyl!

Titles include "Crache La Douleur" by Fanga, "One Way" by Afromotive, "Every Woman Is A Good Woman" by Jojo Quo & Challengers, "Donkey" by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra, "Theme For Isaac Kirya" by The Boogoos, "PDP" by Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, "Radio Kabul" by Express Brass Band, "Africa My Dear" by Afrodita and more.

THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS ARE FROM CHICAGO

Caught a cool Biography the other night on TV. Hadn't thought about the Harlem Globetrotters in years... I can remember going to see them as a kid at The Forum in L.A. about a bazillion years ago. I remember just plain freaking out! They were so funny, f*cking with the refs and the Washington Generals. Of course I watched the Globetrotters cartoons Saturday mornings too! They have been a cultural phenomenon for for more than eight decades and continue to play today.

The Globetrotters were actually founded on the southside of Chicago at the end of the 1920s by Abe Saperstein. The team was initially a 'serious team' which barnstormed all over the U.S., exposing tons of folks to basketball, which was then a distant third to Baseball and Football. They literally played in thousands of games. For a lot of rural America, it was their first encounter with African Americans.

By the 1940s, the team was nationally known, and in 1948 and 1949 they defeated the then NBA champions, Minnesota Lakers, in front of sold out crowds at Chicago stadium. Shortly thereafter, the NBA owners wisely decided to admit Black players into the league.

The evolved over the years and included unforgettable stars like Curly Neal, Meadowlark Lemon, Reese "Goose" Tatum, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton AND Wilt Chamberlain. The guys were hilarious, but they could ball, too! Still can! Chicago baseball hall of famers Fergie Jenkins and Lou Brock even played a couple games with the Globetrotters.

You can probably still catch the documentary on cable.

WILT
GET A TURKISH PRESSING ON EBAY FOR $100
AIR WILT
GET YA' PROGRAMS
TRIPLE THREAT
GLOBETROTTER SCIENTIST

Take the next generation of kids to see the Globetrotters;

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS SITE/TICKETS

BAD BRAINS: RIGHT BRIGADE

Photo: Shepard Farley/Glen E Friedman Collaboration

Bad Brains are one of my favorite punk/hardcore groups of all time. If you don’t have their self titled debut, “Rock For Light”, “I Agaist I”, or “Quickness”, they are all essential. I first heard Bad Brains at the beginning of 1984 when my friend lent me the brilliantly curated and titled Alternative Tentacles compilation “Let Then Eat Jellybeans”(A Reagan dessert favorite update to the Marie Antoinette slogan “Let them eat cake”). The Bad Brains song “Pay to Cum” from their first album was on the comp along with songs by Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, The Circle Jerks, Flipper, etc.. I then went out to find full length records by all those bands. I soon discovered Minor Threat as well, and learned that Bad Brains had influenced their vocalist Ian MacKaye and Black flag vocalist Henry Rollins who were from Washington DC where Bad Brains had started as well. The Bad Brains were also a huge influence for the Beastie Boys. This collaboration ties into almost all of the bands I mentioned because they were almost all iconically shot at various times by photographer Glen E. Friedman. Glen shot a lot of great photos of Bad Brains and a few different shots were spliced together as the reference for this poster illustration. If you don’t know Glen’s work, and you should… go to burningflags.com. This poster is signed by Glen, me, and all the original members of Bad Brains. Keep that PMA.
-Shepard Farley

From their second album, Rock For Light. Classic hardcore DC trailblazers. Kooky video with Chinese acrobats...

RICH MEDINA @ THE SHRINE: FRIDAY 2.11.11

Rich Medina will bring Afro Heat to The Shrine this Friday night! Want more?! How about FREE before 11:30pm w/ RSVP



MASTER OF THE MIX

MJFELA.COM

F*CKING WITH THE ALTIMETER: DIRTBOMBS DETROIT TECHNO CITY

Detroit garage rockers show some improbable yet understandable influences on their newest disc Party Store; Old school Detroit techno. Niice. Wait what? Thought you said anything BUT that, but in a weird and completely logical way, it make perfect sense. Funkadelic plays Kraftwerk, which is pretty much techno. Is Detroit. Outta' space canoe race to the party store, scuzbots!!!

NOW DIG THIS:





IN THE RED

THE MUSIC THAT MADE SCREAMADELICA

Here’s the Andrew Weatherall show that was on 6 Music on the weekend working through the music that inspired the Primal Scream album ‘Screamadelica’. It’s still a great album – play ‘Higher Than The Sun’ loud and it’s still got it.

LISTEN: Andy Weatherall

We also posted a piece a while back which was Weatherall’s tour diary from the Screadelica tour that originally ran in The Face in September ’91. Click here if you fancy reading it.

FROM TESTPRESSING

Chico Dub hipped me to this over on the facebooks...

K FRIMPONG RE-ISSUED ON WAX!

Very funky + very psychedelic Ghanian highife master K Frimpong had a couple of the hottest cuts on the Ghana Soundz complilations. His picture even graces the cover of volume 2. So the headz should be rejoicing that someone finally got around to re-issuing an entire LP. The album, from 1977, has Frimpong backed by his Cubano Fiestas, which is the same as his Vis-a-Vis group. Ill brew of highlife, funk and soul with space-y psych touches via some seriously cosmic electric keys. Totally essential. Save yourself a few hundred bucks, too. Of course the original would be nice too though....

February 2: Iemanjá Day

February 2nd is Iemanjá Day in Brazil. She is the Queen or Goddess of the Ocean, the patron deity of the fishermen and the survivors of shipwrecks, the feminine principle of creation and the spirit of moonlight.

Below is a clip from the excellent documentary Saravah, which was filmed by Pierre Barouh in 1969. The documentary features Baden Powell, Maria Bethania, Pixinginha and Paulinho Da Viola. Baden Powell plays the the song 'Canto de Iemanjá' from his classic Afro Sambas LP with Vinicius De Moraes.

You can watch it on netflix.

BK-ONE: Rádio do Canibal

Warm weather concepts from a cold, cold city... 'specially since it's dumping the white stuff all over the States at the moment... Rádio do Canibal dropped in 2009 (Rhymesayers), but it's still in heavy rotation 'round here. Brother Ali's DJ, BK-One joins forces with Twin Cities beatmaker Benzilla to create a wicked Hip Hop record which rocks a ton of beats from vintage Brazilian joints. Cut Chemist has done the same on his last two records, though mostly on the instro' tip. (Next post perhaps?) But the trainspotting beats is only part of the equation here. The rappers are all top shelf featuring appearances by Scarface, Slug (Atmosphere), Black Thought (The Roots), Brother Ali, Raekwon (Wu-Tang Clan), Murs (Living Legends), Phonte (Little Brother), Haiku D' Etat (Aceyalone, Myka 9 & Abstract Rude), Blueprint, P.O.S. (Doomtree), The Grouch (Living Legends), I Self Devine, Toki Wright, Aby Wolf and The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Head over to youtube to check the other cuts featuring the rappers. Meantime here is Hypnotic Brass Ensemble with a slightly shorter version of 'Tema Do Canibal' from the album. Sweet promo video with great images of Brazil's legendary performers. Boom bap on samba beat!

Available on LP/CD/i tunes