Such is the influence of Fela Kuti that a compilation dedicated to the music he inspired could conceivably include almost anything made in Central and West Africa during the decade of this outfit. He was John Lennon and Bob Marley rolled into one Lincoln log-sized cone of igbo (Indian Hemp). He created a viscous solution called goro, consisting of cooked weed soaked in honey, spices, and oils — the original honey-dipped spliff. Along the way, he wrote some of the most immortal and funky cuts ever etched on wax, ran for president, declared his own nation-state, and showed Bootsy Collins how to get down. All so that his legacy could be carried on by a musical funded by Jay-Z and the man who wrote “Boom, Shake The Room.”
Black Man’s Cry, The Inspiration of Fela Kuti, is the work of Now-Again, the Stones Throw subsidiary whose mission is unearthing supernaturally good obscurities so people can dance like lunatics in their living rooms 8,000 miles away, four decades later. The CD comes with a 20-page hardbound book, featuring wonderfully exhaustive liner notes by label boss Egon and black and white photos of over-sized afros and shades, drums and trumpets, old LP covers, and Fela Kuti, two of his wives and some gargantuan joints. The label is giving away one song, “Women Pin Down” by Dan Satch & His Atomic 8 Band, a little known highlife outfit out of Eastern Nigeria, whose glory days occurred from 1969 – 1971. The cut in question foreshadows the heavy afro-funk that would dominate the next decade, with plangent horns, slick guitar, and holy grail groove. The rhythm is less heavy and the rhymes less politically charged than the first black president, but it demonstrates the trans-Atlantic musical exchange between West Africa and America began well before Fela stormed Los Angeles.
The following year, the group followed up “Women Pin Down,” with Ikoro’s 70 Special, an intermittently excellent record that balanced their highlife bent with a taste for American R&B (song titles included “My Girl in Love” and “Take Your Time”) and lyrics on everything from the mythology of the Aros people, humble doxologies, and pleas to follow communal utopian ideals. Since this is Nigerian music, it is tacitly implied that you are supposed to dance; ultimately, there is enough plutonium to build a bomb though the Atomic 8 was not from Libya. Sadly, their recording output has been scarce post-Watergate. The last time anyone ever heard from them was a brief spotting at Lone Pines Mall on the outskirts of Lagos, mumbling about Enrico Fermi and a bomb made out of pinball parts.
Download:
MP3: Dan Satch & The Professional Atomic 8 Band – “Woman Pin Down”
MP3: Dan Satch & The Professional Atomic 8 Band – “Ikoros ’70 Special”
MP3: Dan Satch & The Professional Atomic 8 Band – “Ocho Okuko Nwe Ada”
