The Funkees and the Dance floor Legacy of Highlife, Funk, and Afrobeat
by Daniel Finn
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I’m afraid of losing music but thanks to labels like Soundway this gets to live on:
The Funkees started as a cover band in Nigeria during the late 1960s, playing shows for soldiers during the Biafran War. After the war ended, they moved into clubs releasing singles in the early 1970s.
Their music never aimed for politics or big statements. The goal stayed simple. Keep people dancing.
Highlife, funk, and Afrobeat grooves lock together with rough organ lines, sharp guitar, and direct vocals, sometimes in Igbo, sometimes in English.
In 1973 the band relocated to England, where DJs like John Peel took notice. By 1977 the group split apart, with guitarist Jake Sollo later joining Osibisa.
What remains is a run of records built for movement. Functional, joyful, and still heavy on the dance floor.