Fela Soul
September 16, 2011 2:55 PM   Subscribe

Amerigo Gazaway combined the music of Fela Kuti and De La Soul to create Fela Soul. All the tracks along with liner notes and album commentary are available free for download here.

For those of you who haven't seen the documentary about Fela's life, Music Is The Weapon is absolutely fantastic. (Previously with now broken links)
posted by gman (30 comments total) 71 users marked this as a favorite
 
Some part of me wants to be very tired of this mash-up game, but these are two tastes that I'm very happy to enjoy together. Thanks much.
posted by mykescipark at 3:06 PM on September 16, 2011 [3 favorites]


Just like Fela should have been, it's free.

Sweet.
posted by chavenet at 3:09 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]




Oh wow, that's actually a pretty great idea. I can't wait to check this out. One of the first hip hop beats I ever made when I was just figuring things out sampled Fela quite heavily; it sounds as natural to hip hop as James Brown in many cases and I don't know why it hasn't been done more frequently.
posted by Hoopo at 3:19 PM on September 16, 2011


And just in case you missed it last time it popped up in a MeFi thread, Ghostface Killer + 70s afro-funk = GHOSTFUNK. Memail me after you listen to Danger 500 and I'll help you find your face, which will have very recently been ROCKED CLEAN OFF.
posted by FatherDagon at 3:20 PM on September 16, 2011 [13 favorites]


This is a great post.
posted by KokuRyu at 3:45 PM on September 16, 2011


Interesting that Damon Albarn has worked with both Tony Allen from Fela and De La Soul for Gorillaz, a mashup guy himself it seems. This sounds like a great idea. Will have to check out the full mix, with hopes that Allen's drumming is put to good use.
posted by juiceCake at 3:45 PM on September 16, 2011


Prior mash-up: The King Meets The President In Africa -- Michael Jackson + Fela Kuti

Another, more recent prior Fela post: The audio of Fela! The Musical, streaming online

And for more mashups, check Afrodisiac Soundsystem (on vinyl and online). I'm sure there are plenty more, but those were a lot of fun when I first found them.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:46 PM on September 16, 2011 [5 favorites]


Just listening through the tracks... If I didn't say so already, man, this is great!
posted by KokuRyu at 3:50 PM on September 16, 2011


Some part of me wants to be very tired of this mash-up game

I just finally got around to listening to (the disappointing, imo) Wugazi, and I'm feeling the same way.

I will give it a shot though, just because, again, I love the parts and I love good mixing.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:56 PM on September 16, 2011


Cool! I can't wait to give this a listen.
posted by drezdn at 4:04 PM on September 16, 2011


You don't have to download it to listen - there's a streaming player on the site. And Gummy Soul is pretty dope, from the other stuff on their Bandcamp page (listening to and enjoying The Stuyvesants Meet Gummy Soul right now).
posted by filthy light thief at 4:42 PM on September 16, 2011


OK, finally listening to the mashup album in question: dope! Seriously well done. If anything, it loses a bit of the Fela feel by the way the samples are chopped, but it makes for a more contiguous feeling. Thanks for sharing!
posted by filthy light thief at 4:55 PM on September 16, 2011


Okay, this is seriously awesome, two of my favorite listens jammed happily together in my earholes.
posted by Aversion Therapy at 4:57 PM on September 16, 2011


Rock Co.Kane Flow is sounding pretty dope. A worthy remix to an already excellent song.
posted by neuromodulator at 4:58 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


This is turning into a pretty awesome Friday night.

(However, is anyone else getting an error when they attempt to download the Fela/MJ mashup from the previous post?)
posted by decathecting at 6:38 PM on September 16, 2011


Hah, reading the liner notes, the last track actually samples from Afrodisiac Soundsystem! I'll be darned.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:44 PM on September 16, 2011


Great stuff, thanks for this!
posted by loominpapa at 7:00 PM on September 16, 2011


decathecting -- the download failed for me, too! Twice! WTH?
posted by filthy light thief at 7:00 PM on September 16, 2011


The Ooh (feat. Redman) track is nasty.
posted by zinc saucier at 9:16 PM on September 16, 2011


This is fucking excellent already.
posted by rollbiz at 3:34 PM on September 17, 2011


This officially my favorite MeFi thread. Ever.
posted by victors at 5:25 PM on September 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wow thanks for all the positive feedback and support ya'll! Didn't know what MetaFilter was until the other day but it means a lot to know that my work is posted on here. Stay tuned for future releases! http://gummysoul.com. Now I'm bout to go check out this GHOSTFUNK album...
posted by amerigo615 at 9:57 AM on September 18, 2011 [13 favorites]


I keep forgetting to check if artists have Bandcamp pages. Afrodisiac Soundsystem does, and they have their 5 Afroheat EPs to stream or buy, plus other material I hadn't seen before. And they were nice enough to title the tracks as the artists in the mash-ups (example: Fela vs Queen, Fela Kuti vs. Grandmaster Flash).
posted by filthy light thief at 4:23 PM on September 18, 2011


Hey, welcome Amerigo! Fantastic job on the mash-up! Seriously, one of the better efforts I've heard in a long time!
posted by filthy light thief at 4:24 PM on September 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


J.Period and K'NAAN also took a stab at remixing and reinventing.
posted by isnotchicago at 8:33 PM on September 18, 2011


Amerigo, you have made a tasty good thing.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:29 AM on September 19, 2011


Enjoyed it a few times this weekend. Thanks, Amerigo!
posted by mrgrimm at 9:02 AM on September 19, 2011


Memail me after you listen to Danger 500 and I'll help you find your face, which will have very recently been ROCKED CLEAN OFF.


MY FACE WHERE IS IT
posted by louche mustachio at 1:24 PM on September 19, 2011


For those of you who love De La Soul mashups and are nostalgic for the heyday of communist jazz music in the Soviet Union, may I present De La Soulviet.
posted by decathecting at 8:38 AM on October 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


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