A couple of years ago, I first listened to this week’s album. I was immediately hooked and found myself asking one, simple question, in agreement with the album’s title: Who Is William Onyeabor? In retrospect, maybe that question isn’t actually so simple after all.
There is something I didn’t quite appreciate during that first album listen through. I was certainly not going to be the only person to have found myself pondering this, so thought a quick surf of the web would reveal to me the rich musical history of William Onyeabor. This would not be the case.
As a twenty-something year old music lover, I have become very used to enlightening myself on the music I’ve stumbled upon that week through an array of Wikipedia pages, interviews, magazine articles and documentaries. When I typed William Onyeabor’s name into Google, I think I managed to learn pretty much all that was able to be known in the space of about half an hour – mostly through the brilliant Noisey documentary.
In that moment, it clicked why this compilation album had been named Who Is William Onyeabor? In many ways, it asked more questions than it answered. The story of the discovery and revival of one of Nigeria’s most under-appreciated musical legends is almost a fairytale, despite not actually revealing an awful lot about the musician behind it all.
In 2005, New York-based record label Luaka Bop (founded by Talking Heads’ David Byrne) released World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 3: Love’s a Real Thing, a compilation album celebrating West African music from the 1970s. Track number 7, Better Change Your Mind, was by a lesser known Nigerian musician (William Onyeabor). The label had first discovered Onyeabor (and Better Change Your Mind specifically) on the Nigeria 70 compilation, and were immediately drawn in by the track’s unique sound and style, prompting them to embark on the journey of learning who this man was. They included the one track on their 2005 compilation, but that wasn’t enough. They wanted to create a dedicated compilation album, exclusively with tracks from the Nigerian musician. This would require learning a little more about the man, and perhaps most importantly, getting his permission.
Luaka Bop’s Eric Welles-Nyström and Nigerian-American journalist Uchenna Ikonne spent a long, long time trying to uncover the secrets of the elusive singer-songwriter and synth player. Very little was known about Onyeabor; between 1977 and 1985, he released nine albums of his unique afrobeat music on his own label, Wilfilms. It held the rhythmic identity of afrobeat music, but with the incredible use of synthesizers, making the music sound like time-travelling, modern electronica. Synthesizers were very uncommon in Africa at the time and seen as a luxury: made even more impressive in the setting of Onyeabor’s incredibly advanced studio and pressing plant. This raised even more questions about who William Onyeabor is; what was his background? Where did he get the funds for this equipment?
Despite his success in Nigeria, and later globally, Onyeabor remained a very private figure throughout his life. Remarkably, his rise to global recognition needed next to no input from him. He did not promote the album, engage in media interviews or embark on a live tour. His only radio interview was with BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne in 2014.
The release of Who Is William Onyeabor? and subsequent revival on a previously unseen scale did result in the creation of a touring supergroup: the Atomic Bomb! Band. The core group is stacked: made up of musical director Ahmed Gallab and his band Sinkane (Jason Trammell on drums, Ish Montgomery on bass and Jonny Lam on guitar); Hot Chip lead vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist Alexis Taylor; LCD Soundsystem drummer Pat Mahoney; keyboardist and frequent Beastie Boys collaborator Money Mark; Lekan Babalola; and afrobeat outfit Antibalas’ Jas Walton. The group itself has also played with musicians including Damon Albarn, David Byrne and Pharoah Sanders. To me, the range of incredible and established musicians who chose to be involved in this project is an immense testament to the respect Onyeabor has earned from his music, despite his complete lack of engagement and interest in the ensuing fame.
I’ll be honest; I’m not normally a fan of ‘compilation’ albums, and certainly didn’t think I’d ever pick one as an esteemed Album of the Week. I feel they are often used as an easy money-grab by artists and record labels, who have already seen the highs of their career, and are doing whatever they can to prolong their life expectancy and milk their output. Perhaps it’s a cynical and pretentious view, but I much prefer to explore the music as it was first intended. Unsurprisingly, I feel this week’s album is a worthy exception, and I hope the reasons why are clear. I don’t think any of us who love William Onyeabor’s music really know who he was, but, in a way, that’s part of what makes his music so magical. The secrecy, myth and mystery surrounding Onyeabor makes it even more remarkable.
Those who made it their mission to learn about Onyeabor and push his music to a wider audience created this fantastic compilation, which tells a story of its own. This is an example of a compilation album which actually mattered, had a significant cultural impact, and shone a spotlight on a brilliantly unique and forward-thinking musician. We may not really know who William Onyeabor is, but we know his music, and that’s what really matters.
Waxing Lyrical 