There are quiet types, and then there is William Onyeabor. The legendary synth pioneer from Nigeria was pretty much unknown outside of Africa during his high life party era in the 1970s funk scene, original vinyls were reissued by David Byrne’s label Luaka Bop, and fuelled by the cult adoration of Damon Albarn, Caribou, Four Tet and more, a huge story began to unfold about the mysteries and myths of the man behind the music. It all culminated with the discovery of Onyeabor at his home in South East Nigeria, but if you don’t know how it goes, then we won’t spoil it for you. Check out our conclusive short film below instead, because it’s the most outrageous and compelling tale music has seen in years.The story is set to make it’s next twist this week, after Onyeabor granted his first ever radio interview to Lauren Laverne’s 6 Music show, with snippets of what happened being played between 10am and 1pm every day this week. You can hear the first one at here (1hr 12mins 25secs).Despite Luaka Bop’s disclaimer about how well it went - “Onyeabor does not say that much or answer any question in a direct fashion, so please don’t expect anything too long” - bits from the interview played out this week are expected to include the funk pioneer chatting about new music, live shows and Michael Jackson.
Advertisement