Articles on NIGERIA SPECIAL
“an explosion of the imagination” Times Online (David Hutcheon)
“as revelatory as it is incessantly enjoyable” Pitchfork (Joshua Klein)
“a triumph” emusic (Michaelangelo Matos)

Articles on NIGERIA DISCO ROCK SPECIAL
“strictly club music” Dusted (Rob Hatch-Miller)
“rootsy, indigenous vibe” BBC (Jon Lusk)

Articles on NIGERIA ROCK SPECIAL
“Every song crackles with the thrill of plugging in”Guardian (Dorian Lynskey)
“fantastic, rich and out there in all the right ways” Fly (Damien Rafferty)

Download Podcast Here

Includes nearly 60mins of interview with Miles Cleret talking in detail about his adventures in Nigeria and how the whole Nigeria Special Series came about.

The Podcast also gives you a chance to hear numerous tracks from Nigeria Special in full, so don’t miss your chance to get the inside low-down on this great release.

Essential listening for anyone interested in the Nigerian Music scene of the 1960-70s.

If the promise of such names as the Nigerian Police Force Band or Dan Satch & His Atomic 8 Dance Band Of Aba doesn’t intrigue, the music on this CD soon will. From a British label excelling in resurrecting rare Latin and Afro recordings from the ‘70’s, this spectacular compilation of Nigerian highlife, funky breaks & fuzz-rock isn’t their first exposé of the country’s crumbling vinyl. But it’s arguably their best. Not a definitive portrait, this is a somewhat arbitrary musical snapshot of a glorious era - and it’s all the richer for it. Of particular note are a number of elegiac, bluesy beauties that slow the pace to a languid crawl. Like the label’s other releases, the packaging & booklet are immaculate. Nigeria Special is an aural and design classic.

“rare and exhilarating treasures”

Even to World Music dilettantes the 1970s represent a high water mark for West African pop. Fusing supple home-turf rhythms with free jazz, funk and soul, Nigeria’s reputation within this field has been sealed primarily by the innovations of saxophonist, bandleader and political agitator Fela Kuti. While certain tracks, including “Business Before Pleasure” by George Akaeza & His Augmented Hits, are indeed heavily indebted to the godfather of Afrobeat, this compilation, curated by British DJ and globe-trotting record collector Miles Cleret, places primacy on a number of lesser acclaimed, and now almost forgotten branches of the country’s musical output: few of the names, The Nigerian Police Force Band, for example, will be familiar. Luckily this doesn’t stop the sounds from shining. While Kuti ruled Yoruba-speaking Lagos, highlife, more commonly associated with neighbouring Ghana but also popular for many years in Nigeria, held on strong in the nation’s tribal provinces. Tracks including Celestine Ukwu’s “Okwukwe Na Nchekwube” and Opotopo’s “Belema” illustrate this point perfectly. But other influences are at play, too, especially those of North American blues and psych rock. As such, this collection casts a welcome light on a number of rare and exhilarating treasures. For the blistering guitar work of The Hykkers’ “I Want A Break Thru” alone, it’s fortunate that someone has taken time to resurrect them.

“yields more with each listen” ****

This latest release from Soundway shows their usual care, attention and commitment to making available previously little known vinyl gems, beyond the vaults of hardcore collectors. Great packaging and detailed notes accompany a selection, that perhaps lacks a central ‘theme’, but does what it says on the tin which is to feature long forgotten bands from one of Nigeria’s most creative eras. Highlife, with it’s jazzy horns and elongated grooves, is the prominent genre, and this double CD also showcases groups that combine afro-beat and funk tinges to fit into the aforementioned’s meandering format. It also purposely looks away from Lagos, toward the east of country. From there comes one of the album’s highlights, the sublime ‘Okwukwe Na Nchekwube’ by Celestine Ukwu. Dreamy guitar phrases are punctuated by a muted trumpet, as Ukwu sings a song of optimism and hope. Elsewhere comes the rough blues of The Hykkers’ ‘I Want A Break Thru’, the spacey funk of ‘Akula Owu Onyeara’ by the Funkees, (replete with what sounds like an analogue synth bassline) and the Fuji vibes of Dele Ojo on ‘Oja Omaba’. Not intentionally definitive by any means, better known artists such as The Oriental Brothers are overlooked in favour of the likes of Easy Kabaka Brown and Godwin Ezike, whose rolling ‘Torri Wowo’ could light up any dancefloor. A deep selection that yields more with each listen, this is recommended for aficionados and passing fans alike.

Although compiled and sequenced by Soundway boss Miles Cleret, who himself has spent much time in Nigeria, behind the scenes were in fact some of the original artists who actually feature on the releases. If you take a closer look at the end credits on the sleeve notes, you will find ‘many thanks to’ Laolu Akins and Berkley Jones of Blo, Joni Haastrup of Mono Mono, and Victor Uwaifo. All legends of modern Nigerian Music.

All these people became involved with Cleret over his many years of researching his way to the roots of modern Nigerian Music. As Cleret confesses, without them the releases would not have possible (or at least would have been inferior), so like West African music itself, the Nigeria Special Series is part of a communal creative process.

This is something really special about West African music and musicians that Cleret is not the first to discover. Please check out the youtube video clip embedded below:

This video features Joni Hastrup on keyboards, Berkley Jones on guitar, and Laolu Akins on percussion (sitting on steps), all experimenting in a jam session with ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker.

Cleret is in fact another in a line of open and progressive music enthusiasts who have traveled to Nigeria and been fortunate enough to make friends and collaborate with the musicians there (other famous guests include Brian Eno). What makes Cleret’s arrival fascinating though is that he went to Nigeria as a DJ and ended up influenced by musicians. It is this that makes the Nigeria Special series so special, a modern outlook up front, but with the original knowledge behind.

Diggin in Nigeria takes you far deeper than just dusty record shops and boot sales.

Timjim 2008

The music produced in Nigeria from 1970-76 is remarkable in many ways. In the 1960’s Rudy Van Gelder perfected the ultimate means of balancing sound levels in US Jazz recordings (both mono and now stereo), using new micing techniques and low-cost magnetic master tape he developed a style that would become industry standard by the 70s. It was only after this time that sound quality stored on vinyl records became good enough to sample and it is with this technology that labels such as EMI, Decca, and Polydor recorded in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s problems with preserving its sound were different. The high quality materials needed for pressing were expensive and high temperatures damaged the vinyl. Add to this, 30 years of storage and neglect and you begin to get close to the problem faced when re-issuing obscure Nigerian music, particularly when there are no master tapes and the only copies left are the original vinyls.

As the proud owner of a few original Nigerian pressings, what really surprised me about Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues was how all the recordings had been re-mastered and balanced to sound as if they had all just rolled out of the same modern recording studio and straight onto CD. Just like most listeners, lack of space means I have micro speakers, designed perfectly for the latest digital recordings but not for the full and earthy sound of Nigerian groove from 1970-76. A tough mastering challenge if ever there was one!

However, I’m pleased to say that the work done by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering Ltd is really something else. Sound Mastering are the in-house digital transfer and re-mastering people at Ace Records, who along with Soundway, also re-master for the likes of Soul Jazz. I can’t tell you what they did to it or how they did it, but Nigeria Special is a great example of how modern digital sound processing can now reclaim the sound of original analogue records. The results are just lovely.

Rare old Nigerian music has simply never sounded so good. Even on my Mickey Mouse speakers.

Timjim 2008