On October 1st this year Nigeria will celebrate 50 years since gaining independence from the United Kingdom. It therefore seems fitting that this year of celebration also sees Soundway Records wrap up their superb Nigeria Special series with two new releases. Taken as a whole the series, though only representing a snapshot of those 50 years, gathers some of the most creative, diverse and until now, largely neglected music from anywhere in the world at that time.

The first of the new releases, Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound In 1970’s Nigeria focuses on the nation’s most famous musical export – Afrobeat, and appropriately kicks off with the genres most famous exponent, Fela Kuti. Reissued for the first time, the original 45 recording of ‘Who’re You’ is a rougher, funkier take on the later version which was recorded at London’s Abbey Road studio for the Fela’s London Scene album.

All the remaining tracks bar one are also being reissued for the first time outside Nigeria. Familiar names such as Orlando Julius, Bongos Ikwue and Segun Bucknor appear alongside newly unearthed acts from Nigeria’s seemingly endless stable of Afrobeat talent. The musical flavour is the same throughout though – a raw, gritty brew of highlife, Yoruba, jazz and funk. It’s the funk element that is the overriding feature, each track seeped in the sweat of bands giving everything they’ve got to stay locked in the groove.

Soundway’s other new release, Nigeria Special: Volume 2, Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds And Nigerian Blues, 1970-76 continues where Volume 1 left off with tracks covering a range of styles and influences that would gradually be distilled into the more specific afro, rock and dance genres that have been compiled in the other volumes of the Nigeria Special series. Up-tempo highlife numbers sit comfortably alongside Juju and slower native blues, this period of the country’s musical development being a time of feverish creativity that unsurprisingly resulted in altogether new sounds as artists began to add modern Western influences to their traditional native musical lineage.

The Nigeria Special series is testament to Soundway boss Miles Cleret’s 10 year labour of love to bring this music the wider attention it so greatly deserves. The fact this is only a fraction of the music produced in Nigeria at this time is even greater testament to the abundance of talent and inventiveness that burst forth from that one nation.

Nigeria Afrobeat Special is released on February 22nd and Nigeria Special: Volume 2 is released on March 8th. Both are available to buy from the Soundway online shop.

Below is a rare radio interview with Fela Kuti recorded in London, 1970. The track featured in the original interview is ‘Who’re You’ and that is featured on the Nigeria Afrobeat compilation.