Fela Kuti & Afrika 70
Expensive Shit

THE REVIEW

The artistic partnership between the two Nigerians, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, produced a fair series of masterpieces to pass on to posterity between 1964 and 1979. Among them is this album from '75, now reissued in CD format along with "He Miss Round" from the same year. For the Africa '70 collective (which changed its name several times), it was customary to release an enormous amount of records each year, most often a single long suite-formatted track per side.

Two complementary creative minds directing the performances of about ten members, a relatively small number of personnel for the type of music offered (with an equal number of dancers added during live performances). This is the formula of Afrobeat, an African-styled reissue of Funk and Jazz sonorities. The group was built on one side by the compositional prowess, vocals, and melodic elements led by Fela Kuti, and on the other side by Tony Allen's undeniable skill in managing the rhythmic phase, as well as his more than generous contribution to the percussion—which limited the use of additional musicians. The texts by the multi-instrumentalist-activist-polygamist Kuti were not only steeped in social themes and Pan-Africanism, but they also referred to an incident that happened to him personally in the preceding months: a story of searches, ingested marijuana, and fecal analysis...

An acidic, yet regular and determined structure for "Expensive Shit", decidedly more jazz-oriented for "Water No Get Enemy". At the base is the exact same setup, which involves the simplification of composition and melody in favor of the rhythms. Sax and electric piano solos are more supportive for the drumming, rather than the contrary. The drummer is a soloist and disconnected from the ensemble’s setup. Accompanying elements essential to this are a rhythm guitar, bass, and tenor guitar, in addition to repetitive and driving horns borrowed from Funk. Congas, sticks, and shekere also find a natural place in this orchestration.

There is groove, and the pulsations are the strength of this unchained music. Still relevant today, disguised by a myriad of different reinterpretations that, at their core, maintain the same foundation. The music of a continent that all too often has been (self) kicked, and the colors that characterize it. Yes. This is colorful music. Black, red, yellow, green, blue.