The thing about English record shops is that they know their stuff. They’ve got the cool records. But they also know what they’re worth. You will not find a bargain in such an environment.
There is a certain kind of experience I only have in a London record shop. In 1989, I walked into an establishment and almost immediately, they started playing Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band’s 1971 album Evolution. The first track is “Getting It On,” which was sampled for “You’re Gonna Get Yours,” the first track on Public Enemy’s 1987 album Yo! Bum Rush the Show. When I was in London a week or so ago, I walked into Reckless Records on Berwick Street and they start playing Ballin’ Jack’s “Found A Child,” which was sampled for Young MC’s “Bust a Move.” (And, by the way, “Bust a Move” also samples drums from “Scorpio,” found on that same Coffey album.)
So, my point is, I was shopping for vinyl and I found two separate dance versions of Fela Kuti tunes. What are the odds? Both of these 12″ releases had no identification on the label. I had to turn to the Internet to find out anything about these songs.
First up is a contemporary remix of a Fela classic:
Kay Sputnik beefs up the bass drums and adds some modern twists to crisp up this Fela Kuti classic. ‘Rofo’ means mud in Yoruba, and it’s a mudslinging game that Fela initially translated into music, and Sputnik – into the future. You’ll be knee deep before you know it.
The very next shop I entered, I found a Afro-disco cover version of one of Fela’s most powerful songs, as Nigerian artist Ephraim Uzomechina Nzeka does “Zombie.” It was hard to find any info, but I found this scrap:
A Disco Interpretation of Fela Kuti’s ‘Zombie’, performed on the [1979] album ‘Ephraim Sings Fela’, recorded with a French studio band.
There you go. Try these out on the dance floor, won’t you?
Fela Kuti – Roforofo Fight (Kay Sputnik Mud Wrestling Edit) — BUY
Ephraim Uzomechina Nzeka – Zombie — BUY
Tags: Fela Kuti, Ephraim Uzomechina Nzeka, Kay Sputnik