Valvulado: Mike Nyoni & Born Free

Zambian guitarist and singer/songwriter Mike Nyoni’s music is Zamrock only because he came of age during the country’s rock revolution. His preferred wah-wah to fuzz guitar, James Brown to Jimi Hendrix. His 70s recordings – often politically charged, and ranging from despondent to exuberant – are amongst the funkiest on the African continent. He was also one of the only Zamrock musicians to see his music contemporaneously issued in Europe.

This anthology collates works from his three 70s LPs – his first, with the Born Free band, and his two solo albums Kawalala and I Can’t Understand You – and presents a singular Zambian musician on par with celebrated artists Rikki Ililonga, Keith Mlevhu and Paul Ngozi.

The latest release in Now-Again's deluxe Reserve Edition series: the first ever anthology of Zamrock musician Mike Nyoni's funky, psych-rock and folkloric 1970s recordings spread over 2 CDs. Zambian guitarist and singer/songwriter Mike Nyoni's music is Zamrock only because he came of age during the country's rock revolution. His preferred wah-wah to fuzz guitar, James Brown to Jimi Hendrix. His 70s recordings often politically charged, and ranging from despondent to exuberant are amongst the funkiest on the African continent. He was also one of the only Zamrock musicians to see his music contemporaneously issued in Europe. This anthology collates works from his three 70s LPs his first, with the Born Free band, and his two solo albums Kawalala and I Can't Understand You and presents a singular Zambian musician on par with celebrated artists Rikki Ililonga, Keith Mlevhu and Paul Ngozi. The package also features an extensive, photo-filled booklet contains an overview of the Zamrock scene and Nyoni's story.

Wonderfully trippy sounds from Mike Nyoni – one of the funkier talents in the Zamrock scene of the 70s – even though he also works with lots of the slight psychedelic touches of other contemporaries too! Mike's style on guitar is a bit too loose to be funk, but it's also got this nice rhythmic pulse that keeps things interesting – and some of the cuts pick up the rhythms a bit more, so that there's some snapping currents that make for a great contrast with his offbeat vocals and weirdly wobbly way of singing! As always with Now Again, the reissue of this material is a great lost treasure – handled perfectly, with great sound and detailed notes that really do justice to the music – on titles that include "I Don't Know", "Come Back To Me", "My Dear Girl", "Messed Day", "Mad Man", "My Own Thing", "Coming Home", "It's Only A Dream", and "Soweto". 2CD set features all three of Mike's rare albums – Born Free, I Can't Understand You, and Kawalala. © 1996-2019, Dusty Groove, Inc.

My Own Thing