Ifetayo; Glory of Om; Anoda Sistem; ‘Oduduwa’ [single]

With the blessing of his widow, Soundway Records have re-released three landmark albums and a single from the much underrated Trinidadian bandleader Oluko Imo. His lack of fame – both in his native country and across the world – is fitting to his commitment to Marcus Garvey, anti-materialism and an authentic Black Power movement, made real in his move from Trinidad to Lagos after an instant friendship with Fela Kuti. The pair met in New York in the early 80s, Imo having honed his craft with jazz ensemble Black Truth Rhythm Band. Soundway’s first release, Black Truth Rhythm Band’s 1976 Ifetayo, showcases a masterful blend of calypso, Afrobeat and American jazz-funk at its wildest. It perfectly fits the global mood of revolution, a sonic kinship with Sun Ra coming across in Imo’s Yoruba vocals and the urgent sense of misplacement. These are the kind of bass-heavy infectious beats that transcend borders, inspired more from what Imo felt in his ancestry than from a physical observed place.

After tour promises for Black Truth were not met, Imo travelled to Venezuela and then to New York, where he met Fela. A collaborative single, ‘Were Oju Le (The Eyes are Getting Red)’, is a vintage Afrobeat track recorded in Lagos in 1988, by now Imo’s well-established home. The creeping keyboard loop and sparse finger-tapped percussion would make a perfect backdrop to a 70s Blaxploitation thriller. Reflections on Imo’s post-colonial experiences of Trinidad and Nigeria come with his 1995 album Glory of Om (Soundway’s third release), while Soundway’s final release, 2001’s Anoda Sistem, features Fela’s son Seun in a slick parting gift.

Both these albums showcase something truly knockout. Glory of Om’s title-track and upbeat instrumental version is more calypso than Imo’s other releases, perhaps evidence of him reconnecting with Trinidad. The result sounds like Congolese rumba with its jangled percussion and uplifting grooves. The album is big on steelpan, an instrument that carries huge importance in its slave rebellion origins. By contrast, Anoda Sistem – recorded just four years after Fela Kuti’s death – is very much Afrobeat, with Seun undoubtedly trying to prove his right to lead Egypt 80 on the sultry ‘City of Gate’. Tracks like ‘Wake Up Call’ and ‘Tell Am’ are politically hot, with Imo’s growls and whoops matching the call-and-response vocals in a way that only Fela, or perhaps James Brown, could do better.