'BODEDEREK

Short stories, Hot Topics and relevant information on Music and the Arts! The official Blog page for Bodederek.com seeking to educate, entertain and inform. We invite aspiring writers to showcase their talent here. Read short stories for free here He was sitting quietly on a long bench made from thick wooden slats, the bench stretched across the whole width of the cell and was firmly embedded into the wall at both ends. His head cradled in his palms as he stared at the floor, Fafo was full of self pity and regret. His immaculately shined shoes was at one end of the bench while he sat at the other end.  It had been impossible to get any sleep because of the noise coming from an adjacent cell. The police officers had stopped checking up on the female occupant who was raising hell with her banging and shrieking. Her yelling only confirmed to them that she was alright, so they ignored her shouting, but she never gave up, the noise continued till dawn. They looked in on her more f...

Short stories, Hot Topics and relevant information on Music and the Arts! The official Blog page for Bodederek.com seeking to educate, entertain and inform. We invite aspiring writers to showcase their talent here. Read short stories for free here! Third World the group toured Nigeria many decades ago. A versatile band that captured the essence of Nigeria of those days with this song "Lagos Jump." The band supported the Jacksons, and toured with the Wailers at the beginning of their career. Their 1977 album "96 Degrees in the Shade" had a few hits on it and struck a chord with Nigerian Music lovers (who were just recovering from FESTAC).   Third World were more fusion oriented than most bands and this probably contributed to their longevity. As far as I'm aware, they are still performing. I'm posting this because I just found out today that the lead singer William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke is ill and I hope he recovers very soon. After FES...

Short stories, Hot Topics and relevant information on Music and the Arts! The official Blog page for Bodederek.com seeking to educate, entertain and inform. We invite aspiring writers to showcase their talent here. Read short stories for free here! Isn't it Obvious? An article from Obvious Magazine shared to me by a friend via Facebook. One reason not to live in a small town! Obvious Magazine            Like This Page · 8 February 2013                                                                                                                                     Lawyers should never ask a Georg...

Above, is a YouTube clip of Fela Kuti and Africa 70 performing a classic Afro-beat tune titled "Cross Examination." Although the performance took place at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1978, the sound has not dated and still sounds just as fresh and exciting today as it did at the time. It actually reminds me of the comprehensive show at the Africa Shrine in Lagos during those days. The live performances at Shrine were usually songs that Fela hadn't released and sometimes hadn't recorded. Fans were treated to music no-one else was aware of unless they came to a live show. This exclusivity brought fans and lovers of the genre. The song is a political tune, indicting the African Military dictators that monopolised power in a lot of the independent nations of the continent at that time. Accusing the soldiers of seizing power by force in military coups, also pointing out that some of these military rulers were the instruments used by the colonial m...

The Fela Bandwagon..(Conclusion): Someone once asked the reason why afro-beat music has become suddenly more popular, readily accepted and is growing stronger with time. I don't know for sure, but the answer could be the raw energy from the music.  Everyone has their own way of rationalising the sound. I loved the rhythm section when Tony Allen was drummer and leader of the backing band, Africa 70. He held sway over the percussive elements, led by example and kept the maverick players in check without stunting their natural growth as instrumentalists and musicians. The jazzy horn lines and witty vocals were for me, an added bonus. Fela himself was a first class musician who composed, arranged and oversaw all the material elements in the music. The man was a multi-instrumentalist. On stage, he played the keyboards, saxophone, sang and conducted the group's repertoire.  This is one of the reason I disagree with the many people that like to describe him as Africa's...

Fela Bandwagon contd... The world is watching and waiting for hits that will enhance and give the afro-beat genre a stronger foothold, keep it interesting until it gets passed on to the next generation. It's what Fela Kuti would have wanted.  I mentioned JK Brimah because Fela Kuti's personal and musical development wouldn't have been complete without the influence of JK. (A chapter is dedicated to JK in Fela's autobiography " This Bitch of A Life " written by Carlos Moore), the story is even more interesting when JK tells it. It annoys me that today's practitioners see JK (who is still alive and well) as an irrelevance, only good in their eyes when they want their undeserved validation. JK at a Party Other individuals who supported and encouraged Fela's musicality but today are given no credit, (especially during the years of strife and turmoil), were individuals like Tunde Kuboye , who ran The Jazz Club of Nigeria , promoted Afr...

Making Sense of the Fela Bandwagon: Fela Kuti died in 1997. His unexpected death was a blow to fans of afro-beat. Before Fela, the genre didn't exist. That alone, is a great achievement. We know that the music industry marginalised African music in general for decades. Fela's chaotic lifestyle, his uncompromising attitude, his politics and the music industry's bias, ensured that his music (as brilliant as it was), remained in the doldrums until after his death. A Felabration From 2003, the music emerged to take it's place exactly where it should have been. There became an awareness all over the globe. It created a wider fan base and even more appreciation for Fela's work. The tragedy is, Fela did not live long enough to see and enjoy the fruits of his labour. A lot of bands and artists have emerged trying to play afro-beat. Few have succeeded, often playing a watered down version of Fela's sound. None have come close to doing it as well a...