Sunny Tracks For A Rainy Day: Orlando Julius Posted by Junior

Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces: Ise Owo and Bojoubari From: Super Afro Soul [Phonogram Nigeria, 1966] Hooray for global warming! It's mid July and I'm still eagerly awaiting the beginning of British summertime. Never one to let 60 days of constant rain affect me, I've been breaking up the periods of self harm and Joy Division with some desperate attempts at creating my own sonic sunshine with the UV rays of the marvellous Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces. A massive star in his native Nigeria, Orlando's 1966 LP, Super Afro Soul, is widely regarded these days as a benchmark album in the development of world funk (DustyGroove, in classically understated fashion, describes it as being an "inspiration to some of James Brown's funkier work of the late 60s!") despite never originally being released outside his homeland. A mixture of African rhythms, fierce horns and straight soul have helped seal the reputation of this album over the last couple of years and worth revisiting. Ise Owa is a great great track, with a cheeky horn riff that streams through the darkest clouds and a percussion section not dissimilar to the JB band. Bojubari kicks off with a cracking drum break before settling into a slower groove which has a more distinctly African feel than Isw Owa but is still pure funk. So, the soundtrack is in place, now, pretty please, bring on the sunshine........ On a side note, I'm aware that we haven't been fulfilling our side of the bargain regarding updating the site recently so I'll try and pop by again tomorrow with possibly my favourite slept on rap album of all time.