Ogun Afrobeat – Unite

The arrival in London in the 1960s of the South African Blue Notes brought new sounds and a new attitude that had an incalculable influence. This historic five-CD set starts with the band live in South Africa in 1964, shortly before apartheid drove it out of the country. None of the members has survived except drummer Louis Moholo, and two of the sessions (from 1975 and 1986) commemorated the departures of trumpeter Mongezi Feza and bassist Johnny Dyani. The 1964 gig, a long way from hi-fi but as raucously atmospheric as sitting in a club, finds them in their early, rough-edged hard-bop and Monkish mode ~ Guardian

Afrobeat’s rise to common musical currency has been mercurial during the last 5 years as dance music producers embrace more complex Afro rhythms and original West African pioneers like Fela Kuti and Tony Allen receive their dues. Featuring new hip hop from Ty alongside seminal house beats from Masters At Work and ultra-funky original music from Nigeria and Ghana courtesy of Fela Kuti, highlife God E.T. Mensah and more. 2 CD collection of 29 tracks then hits the groove straight away with Aslhley Beadle’s ‘Afrikans On Marz’ mix of Femi Kuti’s ‘Beng Beng Beng’, next up the classic Dennis Ferrer track ‘Funu’ which then leads us to a nicely different track with Tony Allen’sAfrobeat mix of Gigi’s ‘Gudfella’. So many more I could pick out too including DJ Food ‘Dub Lion’ and Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou Benin’s ‘Houe Towe Houn’. Suffice to say this does the job big time.