Through the lense – A Soundway film selection – Part 4

The penultimate part to the series was picked by us – the Soundway team – tucked away in our London Fields offices. We’ve chosen some footage that isn’t so rare but puts a smile on our faces every time we see it. Featuring Fela Kuti and the ever so English, Ginger Baker (Cream), whose escapades in Nigeria are near legendary. Enjoy!

Ginger Baker first visited Nigeria in 1970 at a time when local rock music was just finding its feet. By then the sound of Jimi Hendrix & bands like Santana had started to seep in to the mainly soul-based sets of a handful of young bands playing western influenced pop. Recognising the talent of bands like Cluster International and The Afro-Collection, Baker toured Europe & America with some of their musicians with his new band Airforce & Salt. Back in Nigeria in 1972 and exposed to the world of progressive and psychedelic rock at its peak, Joni Haastrup started his Mono-Mono band & Berkley Jones, Laolo Akins & Mike Odumosu set up BLO. The craze that followed hit the youth and student population of Nigeria hard – mixing fuzz guitar & heavy, African rhythms with elements of Led Zeppelin, Traffic & the Chambers Brothers.