Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Cartell Music (formed recently by Jean-Francois Ponthieux in Melbourne) is releasing Seun Kuti’s first CD Saturday February 14, Seun Kuti And Fela’s Egypt 80, which The Independent named one of the top 10 World Music Albums.
26-year-old saxophonist and vocalist Seun Kuti (younger brother of musical force Femi Kuti) started learning to play saxophone and piano when he was eight. Aged 9 he launched his career as a backup singer with his legendary music legend father Fela Kuti and his band Egypt 80.
Fela Kuti (1938-1997) Nigerian singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and political leader was a strong proponent of African nationalism and ethnic identity. Fela’s Afrobeat was a pungent blend of funk and jazz with an African sensibility, reminiscent of James Brown but grittier.
Seun Kuti leads Fela’s original 20-piece group in an explosive dance party, featuring the Kuti family’s signature Afro-beat magic and social consciousness laced with a contemporary mix of urban funk, soulful grooves and hip-hop rhythms. The Afrobeat magic is set in motion in Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 while the delirious, unrelenting groove machine carries us away without missing a moment. Nearly every track on this CD is against the corruption, ignorance, malady, sadness, pollution and the many others ill that ravage contemporary Africa.
With Seun, Egypt 80 is as explosive as they were under Fela, combining horns, keyboards, percussion, guitars and vocals in a sophisticated and overpowering blend that is always insistent.
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 will make an exclusive WOMADelaide appearance on March 7 in Botanic Park, Adelaide.
Media Enquiries
Emma Collison Publicity, 02 9362 9700, 0418 584 795, emma@emmacollison.com
Seun is a great saxophonist, an activist and groovewriter. He promises — and delivers — a serious funk mix of new album material and Fela classics which won’t let you stand still. …it’s a full-on, funk-happy sound that’ll take you to the edge and back. Jambase
African music tends to be danceable, even when the topic is solemn. People love the fact that Afrobeat is about freedom of expression. Metro
The explosive Afrobeat of the late great Fela Kuti just keeps getting more fashionable. And who better to present his legacy than his charismatic younger son, Seun, fronting his dad’s combo, Egypt 80 — one of the best bands in the world, ever? The Daily Telegraph