Strut’s latest Nigeria 70 compilation series Sweet Times: Afro Funk, Highlife & Juju from 1970s Lagos was released today. “Excavating another choice batch of rare grooves from Nigeria’s label archives, the new edition places the spotlight on some of the deeper fusions happening across the country during the 1970s as traditional guitar highlife blended with jazz and funk, hypnotic juju grooves became more progressive and young Nigerian bands came through with their own heavy West African take on U.S. soul, funk, disco and rock.”
[audio:http://bamalovesoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/11-Ire.mp3|titles=11 Ire]
The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination – Ire
“Often going by the unlikely acronym of ‘D.I.E’, this trio constructed their confusing moniker from each member’s surname. Don Kemoah, Isaac Olasugba and Ezekiel Hart were all graduates of Koola Lobitas, the infamous highlife/jazz fusion outfit founded in the late 1950s in London by Fela Kuti. By the time he had hit upon the formula for Afrobeat, D.I.E. had released the first of three Nigerian singles during the early 1970s before emigrating to Italy. Ireis a highlife-inspired track with a juju feel and the title means ‘blessing’ in Yoruba. The lyrics concern friendship and the need to do good: “We shouldn’t fight or we’ll end up in prison.”
