William Onyeabor, 1946-2017

And now he’s dead.

“William Onyeabor, the Nigerian synth funk pioneer, died in his sleep on Monday, the Luaka Bop label has announced…. Onyeabor launched his music career in the 1970s, when he put together an impressive home studio and pressing plant in Enugu. Between ’77-’85, he single-handedly recorded, pressed, and printed a series of groundbreaking synth-funk albums. They included classic songs such as ‘Good Name’ and ‘Fantastic Man,’ novel takes on synthesizer-driven funk that stood out even within Nigeria’s thriving music scene.”

The Pitchfork post quoted above has a good selection of videos. The Luaka Bop announcement is here.