(Strut / Inertia)

Crate-diggers par excellence deliver another gold compilation

As with all of Strut’s excellent compilations, some history is required here: in the 1970s, Nigeria emerged from the turbulence of independence and the Biafran war to find itself a cashed-up member of the OECD thanks to its oil reserves. Trade soon brought in the sounds of funk and reggae, which merged with Yoruba rhythms and Ghanian highlife to form a new, distinctive sound: Afrobeat. Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump chronicles this heady collision of sound, economics, and politics, which produced two of Africa’s favourite sons, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen. Not that any of their cuts appear here: as with previous compilations such as Disco Italia or Funky Nassau, Strut go for obscurity and depth over ease of entry (both artists received plenty of attention in Strut’s previous Nigeria 70 compilation, which is unfortunately out of print). As such, you may ask why you should search for a compilation with such well-known artists as Ashanti Afrika Jah or Olufemi Ajasa and His New Nigerian Bros. The simple answer is that the music on display here is both high quality and diverse, and has been carefully restored from vinyl and lovingly packaged. In a year that’s been dominated by Vampire Weekend’s anaemic, snotty Ivy-League appropriation of African pop, Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump serves as a timely primer of the Afro-funk sound, and for that alone it deserves your attention.

****˝

CHAD PARKHILL

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