Fela Kuti | Afrodisiac - 50th Anniversary Reissue

KFR2008-8

02/12/22

Limited edition gatefold red & green marbled vinyl

Fela Kuti (1938 - 1997) was a Nigerian musician, producer,arranger, political radical, outlaw and the originator of Afrobeat. A titanic musical and socio-political voice, Fela’s legacy spansdecades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk, hip-hop, rockand beyond.

‘Afrodisiac’ is the fifth in the series of celebratory Fela 50thAnniversary reissues. Like its predecessors in the series, thisdouble LP edition is on coloured vinyl; LP1 is green marble andLP2 is on red marble.

The album will be wrapped in a gold foil OBI strip with a brief essay on the album and Fela’s global impact on music. Widespine jacket with printed inner sleeves and liner notes by the legendary Chris May.

The songs on Afrodisiac were tracks that Fela and the Nigeria70 (later Africa 70) re-recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1972 after they had become hits in Nigeria. The best known song on the album, ‘Jeun Ko Ku’, is listed by its Pidgin title, ‘Chop and Quench’, on this album. It’s a satire about gluttony and was Fela’s first major hit across West Africa. ‘Chop and Quench’means ‘eat and die’ in Standard English.

‘Afrodisiac’ was first re-issued on vinyl in 2014 as part of the Fela Box Set #3 curated by Brian Eno. Eno played ‘Afrodisiac’ for David Byrne and it was a huge influence on Talking Heads when they recorded ‘Remain In Light’ - there is a bonus track called ‘Fela’s Riff’ that nods heavily to the influence of hearing ‘Afrodisiac’ and Fela’s music for the first time.

Fela came in second place, behind Tina Turner, for the fan vote for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame nominations last year, and received great press coverage in NY Times, Rolling Stone, MOJO, Record Collector, and more.

Tracklisting

Alu Jon Jonki Jon

Chop and Quench

Eko Ile

Je’nwi Temi (Don’t Gag Me