Artist News Releases

Brian Eno curates Fela Kuti boxset

By | Published on Thursday 9 October 2014

Fela Kuti

Knitting Factory Records is set to release its third Fela Kuti vinyl boxset next week, this one curated by Brian Eno.

Speaking about Kuti’s influence on him, Eno said: “I remember the first time I listened [to Fela’s album ‘Afrodisiac’] and how dazzled I was by the groove and the rhythmic complexity, and by the raw, harsh sounds of the brass, like Mack trucks hurtling across highways with their horns blaring. Everything I thought I knew about music at that point was up in the air again”.

The seven albums Eno has selected from Kuti’s vast back catalogue are ‘London Scene’, ‘Shakara’, ‘Gentleman’, ‘Zombie’, ‘Upside Down’, ‘ITT’ and ‘Afrodisiac’. The box will also contain a twelve page booklet, featuring a foreword by Eno and album notes by Afrobeat historian Chris May.

Watch Brian Eno talking more about Fela Kuti here:

Elsewhere in Fela Kuti news, the African premiere of previously reported documentary ‘Finding Fela’ is due to take place this Sunday at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos. It will then be screened in cinemas across Nigeria and Ghana. If that’s a bit far, there are still some screenings taking place in the UK until mid-November. Or the DVD is out on 8 Dec.



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