Remi Kabaka – Son of Africa (BBE Music, 2023 reissue)
BBE Music is releasing a reissue of one of the most elusive and coveted Afro-Funk albums in history: Son of Africa by Remi Kabaka .
Currently enjoying retirement in the United States at the age of 85, Remi was a vital component of British West African music during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, alongside the likes of Ginger Oloronso Johnson, Fela Kuti, and others. However, while Ginger performed mambo and cha cha chá in Soho clubland and Fela released his early ‘highlife jazz’ records on the Melodisc label, Remi Kabaka was fully embedded in the UK Rock scene, playing sessions and live shows with The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood, and numerous others.
As the 1960s turned into the 70s, Kabaka branched out yet again, this time developing a West African Funk scene based in the UK, which found its roots in the legendary Afro-Roots band Osibisa, but with an influence and an inspiration that permeated into every modern Brit Funk band from Cymande and the Equals to The Average White Band, Matata, and beyond.
Son of Africa was first issued by Chris Blackwell’s Island records in 1976 to little fanfare, with only a few reviews and almost no promotion. African music was a tough sell when the Black British record market of the 1970s primarily wanted reggae, and with Bob Marley on the label, Island had other priorities at the time, understandably. The album vanished without a trace until it reemerged in the early 2000s, commanding a price tag of £700 or more for collectors.
Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, every second of Son of Africa is soaked in straight ahead funk; no spacey psych rock, no disco, no boogie, no extravagant production: only 90-110 BPM grooves that go straight to the soul.
Buy Son of Africa
Author: World Music Central News Department
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
