William Onyeabor in his home studio circa mid-80s

I’ve got a special treat for ISM readers here. A fellow enthusiast of classic African funk and fusion has put together a selection of tracks from one of Nigeria’s most intriguing and unique artists, William Onyeabor. William Onyeabor had studied cinematography in Russia for a number of years before returning to Nigeria in the mid-70s to set up his own music and film productions company, Wilfilms. One can only assume that he was exposed to a lot of electronic music during his time in Russia because the music he subsequently came out with was quite different to anything else coming out of Nigeria at the time, on top of a heady mixture of synthesizer experiments (see the picture above of William in his home studio surrounded by his synths) and elements of Afrobeat, funk and traditional rhythms, William Onyeabor would sing his moral lessons on life for the people of Africa and the world. For example, “Better Change Your Mind” rails against the powerful nations who think they own the world, “Anything You Sow” preaches that if you look for trouble you will find it, but if you are good and kind, good things will come to you, and “Good Name” warns that you can’t use money alone to buy yourself a good name.

I’m kind of surprised that there hasn’t been more interest in revisiting William’s music, it’s an interesting tangent in the early history of electronic music, one that is a complete surprise to most people who end up coming across him (check out the percussive breakdown on “When The Going Is Smooth & Good” at about 36 mins!) . I guess the fact that he doesn’t really fit in alongside any of his contemporaries means he’s been overlooked during the recent revival of Afro music from this period, and it’s only really Afro enthusiasts who’ve ever heard of him. Sure, some of it does sound a little dated and naive now, but there really is nothing I’ve ever heard quite like his music. So I hope you enjoy this introduction to the weird but wonderful sounds of Nigerian electronic music pioneer William Onyeabor, long overdue some wider recognition but this at least is a start…

Tribute to William Onyeabor

Note: apologies for the surface noise, crackle and pops on some of these tracks, but most of this music has never been compiled and it is extremely hard (and expensive) to track down the original vinyls. Believe me, I know, I’ve tried!