From Nigeria: Akwassa - In the Groove

Nigeria has been one of these African countries with a rich western oriented music scene spawning some highly praised garage rock acts like OFEGE and some hot blooded steaming funk acts. One of these groups taking a turn on music that was happening a few thousand miles west in the USA about five or six years prior was AKWASSA and here we gotta listen to their second album 'In the groove' and the title actually says it all. They play some funky music that would make James Brown (God rest his soul) or Betty Davis (Miles Davis' beautiful and highly gifted wife) go crazy for and they do it with a routine you would rather expect with American superstars. AKWASSA impress with a tight as a teenie's ass rhythm section grooving some hypnotizing beats that consist of wild percussions and an airy drumming tied together by some captivating bass lines. Upon this rhythmical basement you find a grinding organ scrubbing your senses and a clean wah wah driven guitar that erupts into fuzzed out solos from time to time. The mid ranged voice comes with a rich tone and nobody would question me if I'd tell him this was a US act. Well, okay, there is a little accent but at least his English is grammatically perfect. In the end it does not matter much for the voice is one instrument that adds a patch of color to the whole picture. How great to know this Afro Funk classic from the 70s can now be enjoyed by a young audience with an open mind. Old school funksters, take your chance, this is sheer bliss.

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Rare Nigerian: Heads Funk Band & Akwassa

The heady funk of Akwassa is as infectious as it is rare. Actually, it is so potent that it couldn’t be contained within just one group:

The Akwassa band were born out of the groups The Founders (later to become the Foundars 15) and an obscure group called Red House. The duo of Felix Day (guitar, vocals) and Kevin Coburn (keyboards, synths, vocals)  are listed as the core of Akwassa, with guest musicians rounding out the ensemble. It turns out, however, that the duo and these guest musicians are in fact the group Heads Funk (or Headzfunk). Or, actually, all of them were both bands. The duo of Akwassa were signed to Afrodisia with the rest of the band listed as guest musicians, while Heads Funk were signed to EMI with the Day/Coburn duo listed as guest and the others front and center. Clever!





Under this system, Heads Funk recorded 3 albums and Akwassa recorded 2, La’ila (1975) and In the Groove (1977). Featured here are two tracks from In the Groove, a most apt title for music that conspires to keep your head nodding and your bell-bottoms swaying. As with other Afro-funk releases of the time, In the Groove showcases more than just straight funk numbers, but of course, it is the funk numbers that get my attention.




Everybody Is Getting On has got an Ohio Players-like groove, accentuated with wah-wah guitar and synth effects, with typical late 70s lyrics about everyone realizing their get-down partying credentials at the same glorious time for an euphoric booty shakin’ time on the dance floor!





Jam All Night takes this theme into the wee hours of the morning with an all out instrumental jam, a bedrock of afro-funk allowing ample room for synth experimentation and screaming guitar solos!





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Price @ Heads Funks Band: Check out here!

Price @ Akwassa: Check out here!


For more info on Akwassa/Heads Funk and its individual members, check here.