Fela Kuti Vinyl Box Set 5: Co-Curated by Chris Martin & Femi Kuti 7LP Box Set

This item not eligible for any further discount offers!

Knitting Factory Records is proud to release the next installment of long-awaited vinyl reissues from the Fela Kuti catalog. Vinyl Box #5 was co-curated by Fela's son, world-renowned multi-instrumentalist and Afrobeat ambassador, Femi Kuti, and Chris Martin (yes, that Chris Martin).

This volume includes Why Black Man Dey Suffer, Noise For Vendor Mouth, Kalakuta Show, Excuse O, Ikoyi Blindness, Original Sufferhead, and Overtake Don Overtake Overtake.

The artwork for each album has been meticulously recreated from the original vinyl pressings, alongside vintage vinyl label artwork. The custom made box also includes a 20-page full-color booklet featuring: introductions by Chris Martin and Femi Kuti, seven in-depth commentaries by veteran music journalist and Afrobeat historian, Chris May; song lyrics; never before published photos of Fela Kuti; and stills taken from the 1982 Fela documentary Music Is The Weapon; and 16x24" poster designed by Nigerian artist Lemi Ghariokwu, the creative force behind 29 of Fela's album covers.

If the liner notes to the latest entry into this vital series of boxed sets celebrating the work of Fela Kuti are to be believed, we have Brian Eno to thank for introducing the music of this Afrobeat legend to not only Talking Heads, but also Coldplay. We can argue all day about which alt-rock band better absorbed the groove-heavy sounds of Fela and his various ensembles. What can't be debated is how important these collections are to further disseminating Fela's funky, politically-charged work. And if having Chris Martin's name on the box entices some curious music fan to snap up a copy of this seven-LP set, then the Coldplay frontman is truly using his celebrity for good. What that hypothetical listener will find inside is another fantastic overview of Fela's deep discography. Included are a fiery 1971 collaboration with Cream drummer Ginger Baker (Why Black Man Dey Suffer...), a late period burner featuring blazing guitar work from Soji Odukogbe (O.D.O.O.), a 1976 record that boasts a downright nasty flow on its b-side (Excuse O) and an out-and-out classic from 1975 (Noise For Vendor Mouth).