The Third Case of the Psychedelic African Symphony

It's almost holiday time, but I am serving up an early gift with the third case of psychedelic African music.

Nigeria seems to be the home of most psychedelic music in Africa, and Nigeria is featured heavily in today's show. Part of the reason is that Nigeria is one of only a few African countries colonized by the English; since English is spoken in Nigeria, that meant that Nigerians absorbed more of the English language musical influences around the world. In the late 60s, that meant that Jimi Hendrix and other psychedelic music was more known in Nigeria than any other country in Africa. Additionally, Nigeria went through a civil war in the late 60s; this experience acted much like Vietnam in America, generating a darker, deeper vibe for the lyrics and musical themes... a perfect incubator for psychedelic music.

But today we will also hear some music with more Arabic influence, courtesy of 2 recent reissues: from Sudan, the full "Jazz Jazz Jazz" recordings from The Scorpions with Saif Abu Bakr have been released by the Habibi Funk label. From Somalia, a new compilation of music from Dur-Dur Band, curated by the always great Analog Africa label.

Tune in, zone out, Happy Holidays.