Press Release :
Nigeria Rock Special shines a light on the flipside to the well-documented sounds of Highlife and Afrobeat coming out of Nigeria in the 1970s - young bands caught up in the wave of Psychedelic & Progressive Rock that was sweeping Europe and the States in the late 60s and early 70s.

In the early 1970s the sound of Jimi Hendrix & bands like Santana had started to seep into the mainly soul -based sets of a handful of young bands playing western influenced pop.

Spurred on by Cream drummer Ginger Baker’s visits to Lagos and his band Airforce (featuring many Nigerian musicians), the sound of fuzzed out Rock reverberated around the Universities and nightspots of Lagos and Ibadan. The craze that followed hit the youth & student population of Nigeria hard - mixing fuzz-guitar & heavy African rhythms with elements of Led Zeppelin, Traffic & the Chambers Brothers.

Featuring tracks from cult bands like Mono Mono, Ofege, The Action 13, The Elcados and Tunji Oyelana amongst many others, this album contains 15 of the best cuts from the scene, available for the first time in 30 years.

The CD is accompanied by a 20-page booklet with rare photos, cover art and historical information on the musicians, giving an in-depth look at the scene and its influences.