There is no groove like an Afro groove to drive out the winter blues on a grey, drizzly day. Listen to an hour’s worth of Afro Beat classics and new grooves by the likes of Motorcity Drum Ensemble.
The mix is anchored around some of my favourites by the late, great ‘King of The Afro Beat’, Nigerian band leader Fela Kuti and his ace drummer Tony Allen. Fela studied music in 60’s swinging London, caught the Funk bug on a trip to the US and created his own hybrid of Funk, Jazz and his Nigerian roots in the process. Operating out of Nigeria under increasing pressure from local powers due to his outspoken stance on human rights and corruption, Fela nevertheless released some 49 albums between 1970 and 1990. Fela died of an Aids related illness in 1997.
Check out the groove that never stops by the man that James Brown himself once called the ‘originator of Funk’. Click on play below to listen to my Afro Beat Mix on Mixcloud.
Afrobeatmix by Micro Kitchen on Mixcloud
The mix also features a Latin-flavoured tribute to the Fela sound by New York’s Masters At Work, which was a big club record in London back in ‘99. The contemporary flavour comes courtesy of the Motorcity Drum Ensemble whose ‘Raw Cuts #3′ underpins a nice accapella by Masters At Work based on Fela’s ‘Upside Down’. See the full tracklisting below.
Tracklisting - Afro Beat Mix, December 2009
1. Intro – Live At Kalakuta Republic (1977)
2. Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Africa 70 – Authority Stealing, Part 1 (1980)
3. Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70 – Na Poi, Part 1 (1976)
4. Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70 – Gentleman (1973)
5. Motor City Drum Ensemble/Masters At Work – Raw Cuts #3 (2009)/A Tribute To Fela, Accapella (1999)
6. Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Africa 70 featuring Sandra – Upside Down (1976)
7. Masters At Work – MAW Expensive (1999)
This is a promotional DJ mix. Enjoy the music and support the original artists.
