by Seun Kuti and Egypt 80
Unanimously hailed for continuing his renowned father Fela’s musical legacy, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 return with a mighty new album - From Africa With Fury: Rise.
To be released by Cartell Music in Australia in late July, the record follows Seun Anikulapo Kuti’s critically acclaimed debut, 2008’s Many Things, and triumphant first performances in Australia in 2009 headlining WOMADelaide and Luminous in Sydney. While his father’s influence cannot be understated, the new cd sees Kuti cut his own musical path, bringing contemporary influences into the traditional Afrobeat approach. “I wanted to do something completely different,” Kuti says. “My last album, it was my first time in control…This time, I said, ‘Okay, I can be more confident in how I express myself, I can say what I want, be as complex as I want.’”
“What inspires me is the time that I live in,” Kuti says. “what’s happening today in Africa are the same things that were happening 40 years ago, when my father was songwriting, but they’re happening in different ways. So when I write my music, it’s from the perspective of a 27-year-old in 2011, instead of a 30-year-old in the 1970s.” Recorded at Rio de Janiero’s Cia. Dos Tecnicos Studios with veteran producer/mixer Godwin Logie and produced in London in 2010 by Kuti and legendary producers Brian Eno and John Reynolds, From Africa With Fury: Rise sees Kuti finding his voice as songwriter, singer, and band leader in his own right.
The album captures Seun Kuti and Egypt 80’s extraordinary live power, scorching rhythms and kinetic funk energy that has earned the band worldwide acclaim as one of the world’s most incendiary live acts. With Kuti’s booming vocals, songs like “African Soldiers” and “Mr. Big Thief” are fueled by call-and-response hooks, breakneck tempos, and combative, topical lyricism prove the classic Egypt 80 sound remains a distinctive and commanding musical force the modern era.
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