Nigerian musical innovator Orlando Julius made his reputation internationally in the mid-’60s with his smash album Super Afro Soul, which was not only considered to be very much ahead of its time when released, but has helped to shape the funk movement in America.
Starting out in the early 60’s, Julius began fusing traditional African sounds and rhythms with American pop, soul and R&B. He spent many years performing and recording in his native Nigeria as well as in the USA where he worked and collaborated with an array of artists including, Louis Armstrong, Lamont Dozier, the Crusaders and Hugh Masekela.
In 2014 Orlando teamed up with The Heliocentrics to record an album of deep afro beats titled, Jaiyede Afro. The collaboration mixes rare original compositions (Buju Buje, Aseni), unreleased original songs (Jaiyede Afro) with many new tracks…and even an Afrocentric cover of James Brown’s In The Middle!
Today’s song, Be Counted features on this album and, with just over 11 minutes of playing time, is a rather blissful way to lose yourself for a few magical musical moments…and if you find that you want to extend those musical moments, check out the whole album, it’s well worth a listen!
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