Afro Psych (Journeys Into Psychedelic Africa 1972 - 1977) cover

Afro Psych (Journeys Into Psychedelic Africa 1972 - 1977)

Recorded
1972-1977
Released

Nigeria experienced an economic boom in the 1970s, but the country was also reeling at the time from a brutal civil war in Biafra which had left millions of people dead and a whole generation traumatized. The country tried to move on, but the youth’s feelings of anger and loss came through in much of the country’s music, giving birth to a vibrant psych-rock scene. The sounds were darker, angrier, and more twisted than the highlife of the previous decade, and Decca subsidiary Afrodisia was at the center of it all. Eight out of the nine tracks (all but Lucas Tala’s “Moghie Nu Te Eka Tse Mu”) on this compilation were released by the Lagos label: the Lijadu Sisters and Igbo band Oriental Brothers International were among their biggest stars and played mostly afrobeat, highlife, and funk, only dipping into the heavier psych-rock sounds championed on this compilation, while Cameroonian singer and bass player Celestin Nyam or Lagos highschooler band Warhead Constriction were pillars of the city’s scene with their furious, fuzz-heavy sound.

Megan Iacobini de Fazio

Recommended by

Suggestions
Jo Tongo cover

Jo Tongo

Jo Tongo
Horizon Unlimited cover

Horizon Unlimited

The Lijadu Sisters
Ethiopia Super Krar cover

Ethiopia Super Krar

Krar Collective
Sewele cover

Sewele

Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars
Conflict Nkru! cover

Conflict Nkru!

Uhuru Yenzu, Ebo Taylor
Harumi cover

Harumi

Harumi
Ebo Taylor & The Pelikans cover

Ebo Taylor & The Pelikans

Ebo Taylor & the Pelikans
One Understanding cover

One Understanding

Christy Essien
Keep Me in Mind cover

Keep Me in Mind

Miriam Makeba