Osibisa – Ayiko Bia
Osibisa
Listen/Download – Osibisa – Ayiko Bia
Greetings all.
Welcome to another spectacular week in the world of vinyl.
The middle of the week is here, and like Simtec and Wylie, I’m just trying to get over the hump.
The tune I bring you today is something I featured a while back on the Funky16Corners Radio Show.
Osibisa is a band that I knew of (mainly via their albums covers, illustrated by Roger Dean*) long before I ever heard a note of their music.
When I finally came across their first album (the self-titled ‘Osibisa’ from 1971) I was already well into my funky years, so I grabbed it and took it home.
While I wouldn’t describe Osibisa as a purely funk band, they were undeniably funky.
Formed by Ghanian sax player Teddy Osei (who with several other members of the band had roots in the highlife band the Star Gazers, going back to the 1950s) in London in the later 60s, Osibisa featured members from Ghana, Nigeria, Antigua, Grenada and Trinidad.
They were a great example of the wide variety of sounds being blended by musicians who came to the UK from British colonies all around the world (see also, Cymande and countless reggae artists).
Osibisa blended African highlife, rock, jazz, soul and funk together to create a sound all their own.
The tune I bring you today, ‘Ayiko Bia’ brings together the native sounds of all the band’s members, sounding at times like Carribbean carnival transported to the streets of Africa (with a little US funk thrown into the stew for flavor).
Bassist Spartacus R deserves special mention.
‘Ayiko Bia’ was later sampled by the Jungle Brothers for their track ‘Good Newz Comin’.
It is a very groovy tune indeed, and I hope you dig it.
Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you all on Friday.
Peace
Larry
*If you were a stoner, or an art student in the 70s (I got to be both!) Roger Dean was a god.
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Themocracy
Love the site! Never stop! I feel like I’m enrolled in Funk n Soul College!
They also had one of the greatest slogans of any band ever, describing their music (I seem to recall the words were even emblazoned on Sol Amarfio’s kick drum) as “Criss-Cross Rhythms That Explode With Happiness” !
Nice! My personal favourite Osibisa track is Sunshine Day. My Dad was a big fan when I was growing up.