In a season of Greek mythology NIAMH THORNTON looks at an intriguing relocation of Medea to contemporary Mexico
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Global Routes with TONY BURKE: August 30 2023
Reviews of Afrobeat Classic Gentleman by Fela Kuti and Les Symphatics de Porto Novo Benin
By chance, RENATA MEDEIROS MIRRA comes across a fine new two hander about the enduring legacy of the Miners' strike
Rescue care from the realm of sentimentality: what happens when we replace the vertical relationship between benefactor and victim with interdependence, collective organisation and struggle?
New releases by Interpol, Phoebe Bridgers, Lambchop
ANGUS REID urges us to understand the persecution of Jason Arday from a political and historical perspective, and to see the victim in human terms
Re-releases of the classics Gypsy Rhumba and Buena Vista Social Club, and a stunning album by Palestinian artist Faris Ishaq
Nothing, says ANDY HEDGECOCK, can rescue this undistinguished amalgam of ponderous melodrama and shallow philosophical speculation
NIGERIAN sax player, bandleader, composer, political activist and Pan-Africanist Fela Kuti is regarded (with his band Africa 70) as the father of Afrobeat, which combined West African music with funk and jazz, popular not just in Nigeria but across Africa.
Fela made his recording debut in 1970 and his 1973 set Gentleman is seen as an Afrobeat classic. One of his most political albums ever, its title track attacks the colonial mentality of Africans who maintain European customs and clothing styles. The album features a cover collage of a monkey’s head on a western-suited body.
The original Fela Kuti: Gentleman has been issued on vinyl to mark its 50th anniversary by Knitting Factory Records.
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New releases from Captain Yossarian, Orquesta Akokan, and Nana Osei Twum Barima
TONY BURKE recommends a new podcast about the legenary Nigerian musician and political activist FELA KUTI