Parisian DJ and remixer Leeroy's take on Afrobeat originator Fela Kuti's legacy is a different animal altogether. For a start, Leeroy clearly gets Kuti's music. Second, these are not Kuti's original tracks, but new recordings made in Lagos in 2017. Finally, the roll call of participating musicians includes Kuti's bandleading sons Femi and Seun, who front a track apiece, and keyboard player Duro Ikujenyo and baritone saxophonist Showboy, both longtime members Fela's bands. The rest of the crew include some of the brightest sparks on the modern Nigerian jazz and Afrobeat scene, including saxophonist Akinyanmi Akin Akinhnmola, guitarist Olu Femi Sanni, bassist Laughter Oluwatosin and percussionist Wura Samba. Other guests include the young female singers Noraa and Nneka. And Fela's first-call sleeve designer, Lemi Ghariokwu, created the cover art.
Fela Is The Future comes with some serious provenance, and it rises to expectations. There is not a single duff track. The highlights are Seun Kuti's "Beasts Of No Nation" and Femi Kuti's "Opposite People," both of which nudge the material into new territory, Noraa and Nneka's melodic takes on, respectively, "Zombie" and "Look And Laugh," Duro Ikujenyo's synthesised-vibraphone wizardry on "Fight To Finish," the core band's readings of "Go Slow" and "Yellow Fever," and Showboy's vocal on "V.I.P. (Vagabonds In Power)," the most Fela-esque vocal on the album.
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