Fela Kuti 'Alagbon Close' LP

• In response to popular demand Knitting Factory Records reissue six of Nigerian icon and Afrobeat originator Fela Kuti’s most important albums. This will be the first time they are released individually since their original vinyl release in Nigeria in the 70s and 80s.

• The LPs feature Lemi Ghariokwu’s iconic artwork and include digital download card and liner notes by Afrobeat historian Chris May.

• ‘Alagbon Close’ (1974): This album heralds a series of increasingly politically-charged LPs Fela would release over the next three years. It was the first album on which Fela deliberately and explicitly challenged the authority of the Nigerian regime and the actions of its enforcers.

• Lyrically inspired by a police raid on Kalakuta in April 1974, the song is dark and addresses the Nigerian police’s violence and apparent immunity from prosecution.

• Musically, ‘Alagbon Close’ marks the transition between highlife jazz and Afrobeat.

• It was the first of Fela’s albums to carry a sleeve designed by Lemi Ghariokwu, whose artwork became an integral part of the Afrobeat message.

Catalogue number: KFR2011-1

Condition: New

Label: Knitting Factory