William Onyeabor

Hailing from Nigeria, William Onyeabor made a number of incredible Nigerian soul & funk albums towards the tail end of the 1970’s (the album ‘Atomic Bomb’ is worth checking out… particularly the track ‘Change Your Mind’). However, as the 80’s kicked in William began to experiment with the new sounds and bleeps that could now be tweeked on modern synthesisters. ‘Anything You Sow’, William Onyeabor’s final LP was released in 1985 and is a true masterpiece of Afro-electronica that’s been re discovered by modern acts such as Keiran Hebden AKA Four Tet & Caribou (who recently sampled this LP). The album is worth a pretty penny these days as is very hard to find the LP in any decent playable condition.

Kicking off with the 12 minute epic ‘When The Going Is Smooth & Good’ is a truly pioneering piece of disco/funk with a clear message in the music. Dipping in and out of intricate percussion workouts and driven by bleepy synth grooves, it has an iressistable lo fi charm. Followed by the uptempo ‘This Kind Of World’, another percussive electronic workout that begs the question 'have you ever seen this kind of world?'. The B side sees the LP’s tempo drop down a notch with the LP title track ‘Anything You Sow’. The LP finishes with a beautiful electronic ballad ‘Every Day’. This album is an exceptional piece of music, that’s all killer, and you’ll have never heard anything like it… it will appeal to fans of Nigerian Afro funk & electronic disco… don’t let this fantastic album pass you by!

• 1 When The Going Is Smooth and Good
• 2 This Kind Of World
• 3 Anything You Sow
• 4 Every Day