Press Releases

• KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO RELEASE THIRD SET OF FELA...

  KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO RELEASE THIRD SET OF FELA REISSUES SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

  Knitting Factory Records is very excited to announce the release of the third set of Fela reissues. This portion of the reissues series, entitled “Zombie” in celebration of Fela’s most well known song, spans the years 1976 – 1980. Containing 11 albums, this period of Fela’s storied career saw his Kalakuta Republic increasingly under siege from the Nigerian government, and the clear rise of his vitriol as it fermented into scathing musical diatribes. .

  Tracks such as “Authority Stealing” and the international hit “Zombie” are great examples of Fela’s unfiltered outpouring of raw anger towards the oppressive Nigerian government. Interestingly, the 1976 album Upside Down features the vocals of Sandra Isadore – the American woman who introduced Fela to the Black Power Movement. Music Of Many Colours is collaboration with American vibraphonist Roy Ayers.

  The titles that are being released are:
  Zombie (1976)
  Upside Down (1976)/Music of Many Colours (1980)
  Stalemate (1977)/Fear Not For Man (1977)
  Opposite People (1977)/Sorrow, Tears and Blood (1977)
  Shuffering & Shmiling (1978)/No Agreement (1977)
  V.I.P. (1979)/Authority Stealing (1980)

  “What’s fascinating about Fela’s music at this point is the dichotomy between the music and the message,” says Brian Long of Knitting Factory Records. “Out of context, these songs are incredibly upbeat and full of the hottest African funk, while in the context of Fela’s life, when you read the lyrics and know the story, they are full of frustration and a fiery anger that was meant to lift the people into protest.”

  Thirteen CDs and 23 albums have already been re-released this year through this landmark reissue series, and the reaction has been rapturous as Fela’s music continues to find new audiences every day. A large part of this palpable momentum is a result of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, FELA!, which is continuing it’s hit run at the Eugene O’Neill Theater, while looking to open in London’s West End in the fall. It is directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones and produced by Shawn ‘Jay-Z” Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith with music by the world-renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson.

  The next group of reissues will be released in the winter.

• KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO RELEASE SECOND SET OF FELA...

  KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO RELEASE SECOND SET OF FELA REISSUES MAY 11, 2010

  UNIQUE PRE-SALE OFFERINGS VIA FELA.NET

  Knitting Factory Records is very excited to announce that the second set of Fela reissues will be released on May 11, 2010. Once again, as the reissues are being made available in mostly chronological order, these seven CDs that contain 14 albums total are mostly from the mid-70s and represent Fela and Africa ‘70 in their prime. Clearly his and the group’s most productive period (12 of the albums were released in 1975 and 1976 alone), it is during this point in his life that Fela’s social commentary began to reach a boiling point with songs such as “Icy Blindness” and “Expensive Shit.” However, in this collection of songs he also touched on more sensual subjects as in “Na Poi,” philosophy as in “Water No Get Enemy” and the shaking loose of the colonial mentality as in “Yellow Fever.”

  The titles that are being released are:

  Alagbon Close (1974)/Why Black Man Dey Suffer (1971)
  Expensive Shit (1975)/He Miss Road (1975)
  Everything Scatter (1975) /Noise For Vendor Mouth (1975)
  Monkey Banana (1975)/Excuse O (1975)
  Ikoyi Blindness (1976)/Kalakuta Show (1976)
  Yellow Fever (1976)/Na Poi (1976)
  J.J.D. (Johnny Just Drop) (1977)/Unnecessary Begging (1976)

  Right now Knitting Factory Records in association with Topspin is making this collection of CDs available for pre-sale in three different configurations: offering one is the digital download of all the titles; offering two is the digital download plus all the CDs; offering three is all of the above with the inclusion of a t-shirt. All of the titles have been re-mastered and re-released in unique digi-packs with the original artwork.

  “This second batch of reissues has some of the most powerful music of Fela’s career,” says Knitting Factory Records’ Brian Long. “When the world thinks of Fela, it is the music from this perfiod that generally gets discussed.”

  Again, the reissue series is well timed as it coincides with the critically acclaimed FELA!, the hit Broadway musical that has been celebrating Fela’s life and music nightly since it opened in November 2009. It was directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones and produced by Shawn ‘Jay-Z” Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith with music by the world-renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson.

  The next group of reissues will be released in the fall.

• FELA! - ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING TO BE RELEASED...

  FELA! - ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING TO BE RELEASED JUNE 8TH

  AVAILABLE FOR PRE-RELEASE ORDER ON APRIL 20

  Knitting Factory Records is excited to announce the June 8th release of Fela! – Original Broadway Cast Recording. This album documents the magic of the hit Broadway musical that Ben Brantley of the New York Times called “hot (and seriously cool).” He went on to say that “there has never been anything on Broadway like this production,” and Elysa Gardner of USA Today called it “this decade’s most exhilarating new Broadway musical.”

  Fela! – Original Broadway Cast Recording features the incomparable Sahr Ngaujah as Fela singing with members of the irrepressibly funky Antibalas. A version featuring Kevin Mambo will be available for download and for sale at the theatre later this summer. Most of the Fela compositions performed on stage each night, leaving sold-out audiences astonished and breathless at the end of every show, are on this album as are several songs performed by Funmilayo (Fela’s mother) as played by the Tony-award winning Lillias White, and Sandra Isadore (Fela’s American girlfriend) as played by Saycon Sengbloh. This album was produced by the Grammy-nominated Robert Sher.

  “We worked incredibly hard, and have had amazing and talented people on board to create what we think is one of the hottest, sexiest, entertaining and unique Broadway experiences today,” says the show’s producer Stephen Hendel. “We’re working equally hard to make sure that’s captured in the cast record.”

  Based on the life of groundbreaking African composer and performer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, FELA! is the critically acclaimed Broadway musical that uses Fela’s music to explore his life as an artist, political activist and revolutionary musician.

  Directed and choreographed by Tony® Award winner Bill T. Jones, with arrangements by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean, FELA! is a provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theatre. The cast recording captures the electricity and joy that thousands have experienced at the Eugene O’Neill Theater every night since the play opened on November 23, 2009. The record is a document of that experience, yet at the same time is a musical statement in its own right.

  Says Hendel, “There are three great bands in the world that can capture this music with the thrill and intensity of Fela Kuti himself: Femi and Seun Kuti, who live and play in Nigeria and tour around the world, and members of Antibalas, who are based in Brooklyn. We are privileged to have these members on our stage every night, bringing this music to a world that has, to a large extent, only recently understood what they’ve been missing.”

  Tracklisting for Fela! – Original Broadway Cast Recording:

  Everything Scatter
  BID (Breaking It Down) – High Life (Medzi Medzi)/Yellow Fever
  Trouble Sleep
  Teacher
  Black President (scene)
  Lover*
  Upside Down
  Expensive Shit
  I.T.T. (International Thief Thief)
  Kere Kay
  Water No Get Enemy
  Torture (scene)
  Zombie
  Trouble Sleep (reprise)
  Na Poi
  Sorrow, Tears And Blood
  Sorrow After Testimonials (scene/interlude)
  Dance of the Orisas (Shakara)
  Rain**
  Coffin For Head Of State
  Kere Kay (act II)
  Gentleman (bows)

  *lyrics by Jim Lewis
  **music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean, lyrics by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis

• Feb 16 2010 KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO RELEASE FIRST SET OF FELA...

  KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO RELEASE FIRST SET OF FELA REISSUES FEBRUARY 16, 2010

  Knitting Factory Records is very excited to announce that the first set of Fela reissues will be released on February 16, 2010. Since the reissues are being made available in chronological order, these six CDs, that contain nine albums total, represent the earliest period of the Nigerian legend’s oeuvre. The timespan of the releases is 1969 – 1974, the era during which Fela first created the sound he was to call Afrobeat, a music he always contended was a modern form of danceable, Afircan classical music that was created out of a cross-breeding of funk, jazz, salsa, calypso, with juju, highlife and African percussive patterns.

  The titles that are being released are:

  The ’69 L.A. Sessions

  Live With Ginger Baker

  London Scene/Shakara

  Roforofo Fight/+2 Singles

  Open & Close/Afrodisiac

  Gentleman/Confusion

  These records give the listener a fascinating glimpse into Fela’s earliest recordings with his first band, the Highlife group he formed in London called Koola Lobitos, and illustrate the evolution of his Afrobeat sound, his experiments with lengthy improvisation as well as his emerging political voice, which was to become more scathing and direct as he got older. All of the titles are remastered and re-released in unique digi-packs with the original artwork.

  “We are elated to finally ensure that Fela’s entire catalogue is readily available to the general public, and in apropos packaging,” says Knitting Factory Records’ Ian Wheeler. “I’m also excited as a fan because it’s great to offer a new generation the opportunity to discover Fela’s sonic and lyrical progression from its earliest days.”

  The reissue series is well timed as it coincides with the critically acclaimed FELA!, the hit Broadway musical that celebrates Fela’s life and music. The play, which is leaving sold-out audiences astonished and breathless at the end of every performance, is directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones and produced by Shawn ‘Jay-Z” Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith. The Eugene O’Neill Theatre has been dressed to look like the Shrine in Nigeria in which Fela performed for many years to his loyal local following and the world-renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, perform Fela’s music live onstage.

  The next group of reissues will be released in the spring.

• Oct 27 2009 KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO BEGIN COMPLETE FELA REISSUE...

  KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS TO BEGIN COMPLETE FELA REISSUE SERIES

  FIRST RELEASE TO BE THE BEST OF THE BLACK PRESIDENT WITH EXCLUSIVE DVD ON OCTOBER 27, 2009

  FIRST TIME ALL 45 TITLES WILL BE RELEASED ON VINYL IN NORTH AMERICA

  FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASE OF ENTIRE CATALOGUE OF
  FELA’S 1960s BAND: KOOLA LOBITOS

  BROADWAY MUSICAL FELA TO OPEN
  NOVEMBER 23 AT EUGENE O’NEIL THEATRE

  Knitting Factory Records is very excited to announce that over the next 18 months, all 45 Fela titles will be remastered and re-released in unique digi-packs with the original artwork. This reissue series will mark the first time all of the titles will be released on vinyl in North America, and also the first official release of the entire catalog of Fela’s 1960s highlife band Koola Lobitos. The first release of the series will be The Best Of The Black President on October 27, 2009, which compiles 13 of the most popular Fela compositions. The deluxe edition of the CD will come with a DVD featuring segments from the film Music is the Weapon, performances from the Berlin Jazz Festival, “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense” from the Glastonbury Festival and interviews with choreographer/director Bill T. Jones and Fela biographer Carlos Moore.

  Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones is the director and choreographer of the new Broadway musical, FELA!, based on the life and music of the legend. The critically acclaimed musical will open at the Eugen O’Neill Theatre in New York on November 23. Sold-out crowds were left dancing in the aisles during its premiere last summer at Off-Broadway 37 Arts, as the world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, performed Fela’s music live onstage.

  “The timing couldn’t be more perfect,” says Knitting Factory Records’ Ian Wheeler. “With the play opening, it made the most sense to start the reissue series in the fall. We are taking great care working with Fela’s estate to make the reissue series the most true to the artist’s original concepts than ever before. We have a lot of fun ideas up our sleeves too.”

  Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, previously Ransome-Kuti, was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1938. His father, like his grandfather, was a minister of the Protestant church, and director of the local grammar school. His mother was a teacher, but later became a politician of some considerable influence. His parents sent him to London in 1958, but rather than study medicine like his two brothers and his sister, Fela chose to register at the Trinity School of Music, where he was to spend the next five years. He formed Koola Lobitos with other Nigerian musicians living in London.

  Fela decided to take the Koola Lobitos to the United States in the mid 60s. In Los Angeles, he changed the name of the group to Fela Ransome-Kuti And Nigeria 70. At the club where they were playing, he met an African American girl, Sandra Isodore, who was a close friend to the Black Panthers. She introduced Fela to the philosophies and writings of Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver and other Black activists and thinkers, through which he was to become aware of the link existing between Black people all over the world. While in Los Angeles, Fela also found the inspiration he was seeking to create his own unique style of music, which he named Afro-Beat. Before leaving America, the band recorded songs in this new style. When he returned to Nigeria, Fela once again changed the name of the group, this time to Fela Ransome-Kuti & Africa 70.

  Fela soon became a virulent critic of colonialism and neo-colonialism soon grew famous as a spokesman for the great mass of people, in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa and the African Diaspora, disenchanted with the period of post-independence. His songs became satirical and sarcastic towards those in power, condemning both military and civilian regimes for their crimes of mismanagement, incompetence, theft, corruption and marginalization of the underprivileged.

  In 1974, pursuing his dream of an alternative society, he built a fence around his house and declared it to be an independent state: The Kalakuta Republic. To the chagrin of the bourgeois section of the Nigerian society, this act of defiance was soon to spread throughout the entire neighborhood as more and more people were inspired by Fela’s stance. The authorities remained vigilant, fearing the potential power of his “state within a state.” On countless occasions, he was to suffer the consequences of his scathing denunciations with arrests, imprisonment and beatings at the hands of the authorities.

  Fela presented himself as a presidential candidate in the 1979 elections that would return the country to civilian rule. His candidature was refused. Four years later, at the next elections, Fela once more stood for president, but was prevented from campaigning by the police, who again rampaged through his house, imprisoning and beating Fela and many of his followers. However, any further presidential aspirations were crushed when a coup brought Nigeria back to military rule.

  In 1984, Fela served 20 months of a five-year prison sentence on trumped-up currency charges. He was only released when the judge confessed to having sentenced him with such severity because of pressure from the previous regime. The judge was dismissed from office and Fela was given his liberty.

  Over the next decade, with an entourage of up to 80 people, now called Egypt 80, Fela made several visits to Europe and the United States. These tours were to receive tremendous public and critical acclaim, and made an important contribution to the worldwide popular acceptance of African rhythms and African culture.

  Fela passed away in August 1997.