orlando-julius-2014

Afrobeat pioneer Orlando Julius playing first US shows in over a decade (dates)

Orlando Julius

Few artists have been more crucial to the invention, development, and popularization of Afro-pop than Orlando Julius. Starting in the ’60s, Julius was fusing traditional African sounds and rhythms with those of American pop, soul, and R&B. Aside from performing and recording in his native Nigeria, he spent many years in the United States working on collaborations with Lamont Dozier, the Crusaders, and Hugh Masekela. His 1966 effort, Super Afro Soul, made him a national celebrity in Nigeria and even went so far as to influence music in the United States. The record’s dramatic, highly melodic incorporation of soul, pop, and funk was very much ahead of its time, and some say that Super Afro Soul helped shape the funk movement that swept over the United States in subsequent years.

After Super Afro Soul, Julius released a long list of records exclusively in Nigeria and from them received a great amount of local fame. He went largely unnoticed by the international community until 2000, when Super Afro Soul was re-released on Strut and distributed throughout the world to wide critical acclaim. In 2011, his 1972 album Orlando Julius and the Afro Sounders was reissued by Voodoo Funk, and the artist increased his live activity at home and abroad. [All Music]

Afrobeat pioneer Orlando Julius is going on his first run of US dates in over a decade, beginning in Chicago tonight (9/18). After that, he makes his way to NYC for a show on September 25 at Le Poisson Rouge as Orlando Julius & The Afro Soundz, with support from Underground Soundsystem. Tickets for that one are on sale now.

Orlando’s most recent album is 2014’s Jaiyede Afro (Strut Records), recorded with backing band The Heliocentrics. Listen to the title track and his classic Super Afro Soul, with his list of tour dates, below…

Orlando Julius — 2015 Tour Dates
September 18th: Chicago, IL / Mayne Stage ‘World Music Festival Chicago’
September 19th: Chicago, IL / Mayne Stage ‘World Music Festival Chicago’
September 25th: New York, NY / Le Poisson Rouge
September 26th: Albuquerque, NM / National Hispanic Cultural Center