{"id":17,"date":"2018-03-18T22:31:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T22:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/abrew1\/?p=17"},"modified":"2018-05-17T12:03:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T11:03:20","slug":"week-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/abrew1\/2018\/03\/18\/week-4\/","title":{"rendered":"African Electronic Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Go To War<\/strong><\/a><\/h1>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Artist:<\/strong> William Onyeabor<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Country:<\/strong>\u00a0 Nigeria 1979<\/span><\/h2>\n

Album:\u00a0<\/b>Tomorrow<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0A reaction by Rachel, Kate, Simon and Alex.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

All of these statements are true reactions to\u00a0Why Go To War<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>by people who don’t consider themselves to be professional musicians or ethnomusicologists.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

William Onyeabor is a Nigerian Funk musician born in March, 1946. Onyeabor was born into a poor family in Enugu, a city located in the South East of Nigeria and spent all of his childhood there. As his music grew more popular, Onyeabor became financially stable enough to travel to Europe to study record manufacturing but he returned to Nigeria in the 1970s to set up his own music label as well as a recording and production studio. His success made him incredibly popular in Enugu and he was crowned a high chief due to his successful business mentality. Although incredibly successful in all of 8 self-released albums he created between 1977 and 1985, Onyeabor remained an introverted man, who refused to speak about his music making only one broadcast in his career in 2014. In this interview he stated that he didn\u2019t intend to release any more music and he kept to this promise because in early 2017, William Onyeabor passed away at the age of 70. There is very little on Onyeabor as a person or in regards to his music and thus his motivations to write the music he did are relatively unknown but, his politically driven voice lives on is his songs.<\/p>\n

Why Go to War <\/strong>is the 2nd<\/sup> song on William Onyeabor\u2019s 1979 album Tomorrow. <\/em>A song which questions the very choices that both the government and society make \u2013 he addresses \u2018leaders, all nations, super powers\u2019 and asks them \u2018why go to war, why not find peace?\u2019. Very little is known about this song, as Onyeabor never explained his motives behind such, but its generic nature, referring to \u2018all blacks and whites all over the world\u2019, suggests he is questioning all of society.<\/p>\n

A Preface to these interviews: I chose to show a remastered version of Why Go To War<\/em> which was accompanied by a video and opening composition which wasn\u2019t part of the original release. I informed the participants of this previous to listening to the song and the interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t know why we go to war! We just do!\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rachel Brew <\/strong>is a Sociology and Politics student at Sheffield Univeristy.<\/p>\n

Before knowing anything:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the most repetitive piece I have ever heard in my life. And 9 minutes of it. I don\u2019t know why we go to war! I don\u2019t know okay, we just do! But I suppose that incessant repetitive nature was effective because I will never\u2026 Ever\u2026 Forget the question in the song. I\u2019m assuming, by their accents alone, that the piece was African? I\u2019ve never heard of African Disco but it didn\u2019t sound much like the disco that I am used to, it had a very distinct African influence to it and that\u2019s perhaps because of the instruments which were used, including what sounded to me like a synthesiser? I\u2019m also glad it\u2019s in English because after last time I just didn\u2019t understand what was going on. I just wish there had been more lyrics to the song, because I might have been able to become involved in the song if I was provided with more information as opposed to the simple question: why go to war?<\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In all honesty, I don\u2019t feel as though I\u2019ve learnt all that much more about the song\u2026 I am slightly surprised that it isn\u2019t more popular in Nigeria as it has the same tone as Free Nelson Mandela <\/em><\/a>and came out around the same time. I can completely understand why it isn\u2019t popular in England and America though, it doesn\u2019t resonate with any of the kind of music that is listened to here and it\u2019s politically active message might be too much for many to handle \u2013 particularly as it\u2019s not our own political message. I hate to say it, but we\u2019re not interested in anything that doesn\u2019t concern us\u2026 And in 1979, Nigeria didn\u2019t concern us.
\n
\n\u2018Everyone goes to war and no-one knows why\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alex Gray <\/strong>is a student of Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University.<\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/strong><\/p>\n

That might genuinely be the biggest waste of nine minutes I\u2019ve ever spent. What did I achieve from that? Where was the meaning? All I heard were two slightly out of sync voices asking me the same question? I think my main problem with the music was the bad quality synthesiser which was providing all of the backing track to the same two lyrics. For me, it wasn\u2019t a problem of where the song was from, it was a problem of how the song sounded, which is interesting because I usually enjoy synthesiser beats. There was very little change, it was the same motif repeated with the same lyrics being said over the top. I understand that there was a political message in the song \u2013 I eman he repeated it enough times – which could be in reference to any of the multiple genocides and wars that were going on in Africa during the 1900s.<\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This has to be about the Nigerian Civil War<\/a>. Onyeabor was a reclusive man who chose not to speak about his music, maybe he was simply too afraid to talk about his music for fear of what might happen to him? Questioning the government, particularly at this time, was an incredibly dangerous thing to do \u2013 Nelson Mandela proves that. The political intent is very clear behind this song but I can understand why it isn\u2019t particularly popular comparatively. The content of the song just isn\u2019t there, there is so little for the listener to become invested in that it simply becomes a question to which no one can answer. Everyone goes to war and no-one knows why, don\u2019t question the listener, provide alternate options.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2018You always think that you\u2019ll make a difference\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Simon Lawton <\/strong>is an Accountant.<\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This reminds me so much of the music that I listened to whilst I was growing up. I was a hippie, as was everyone in England during the 1970\u2019s, and these repetitive beats with simple but political lyrics appealed to us. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a particularly good song, no, but it does appeal to the youth in me who was rebellious and wanted to change the world. I think the writer of this song thought the exact same thing, because you always do. You always think that you can change the world, be it through art or music or poetry or film, you always think that you\u2019ll make a difference. And in Africa (I know it\u2019s very generic), I\u2019m sure this man thought he could make a change. It\u2019s always been unstable so no matter when this song was made, it will always be relevant, which is really sad. I don\u2019t think it would be popular in England now like it would have been in the 1970s, it has too much weight, too much meaning behind it which we just don\u2019t care about.<\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

William Onyeabor is a name I know incredibly well I just didn\u2019t realise this song was his, you must have chosen an obscure one. He was incredibly popular with\u2026 Me, at least during the 1970s and 80s. All of his music has a political undertone or overtone, but that combined with the really chilled beat is the reason that I liked it so much. I\u2019m not shocked that it wasn\u2019t popular in Nigeria, it was really dangerous to enjoy this kind of music at that time\u2026 Any music that called into question the government\u2019s morals was bound to cause a problem. In fact, I\u2019m shocked that this isn\u2019t more well recognised in England, it certainly was in the 1970\u2019s when I was around. The way he addresses everyone is all encompassing I think, which was perhaps for his own safety, but it\u2019s really effective in involving all listeners. It makes me sad to think that he died without having ever explained why he made the songs that he did and what his political beliefs really were.<\/p>\n

\u2018Self-indulgent and not effective. The perfect combination.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kate Lawton <\/strong>is a retired Mathematics Scholar.<\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This just isn\u2019t my kind of music. I wish it was, but I am the epitome of someone who enjoys chart music without any kind of message behind it. I want to enjoy my music, not to think about what it means. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I can get behind the message of the song and I do truly believe in it, but I would prefer to hear someone speak about it rather than put it in a song. It\u2019s why I don\u2019t like Bob Dylan<\/a> or Bob Marley<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s just not what I want to listen to with my time. But saying that, I also just didn\u2019t think that this was a good piece\u2026 It seemed self-indulgent to me. Self-indulgent and not effective. The perfect combination. I couldn\u2019t actually understand what they were saying a lot of the time, though I knew it was in English, their thick I\u2019m assuming Jamaican accents meant that a lot of the words were difficult for me to hear. Alongside that, I thought the way in which they were trying to assert their message was ineffective and basic. Yes, it may have been effective when it was first released in the 1960\u2019s, but now it seems outdated and too simplistic. When comparing it with anti-war music of the here and now, such as grime artists and Bob Dylan (as much as I dislike both), the lyrics seem distant and the singers don\u2019t seem emotionally invested in the music.<\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nigeria in the 1970s? I\u2019m assuming the song must be a reaction to the Nigerian Civil War that happened in the 1960s\u2026 I still don’t understand the appeal to the song and it seems like a lot of others feel the same way, but I can understand why simplicity was effective. Its hypnotic nature makes complete sense to contrast the message of war that it\u2019s trying to undermine\u2026 The oddest thing to me is Onyeabor was a seemingly influential businessman and musician, why he would be so secluded? It means that us English and the Americans can never learn more about his music whether we want to or not\u2026 Which makes me ask: why bother?<\/p>\n

Discover some new African electronic\u00a0artists:<\/b><\/p>\n

Spoek Mathambo<\/a><\/p>\n

DJ Mujava\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Felix Laband<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Go To War \u00a0Artist: William Onyeabor Country:\u00a0 Nigeria 1979 Album:\u00a0Tomorrow \u00a0A reaction by Rachel, Kate, Simon and Alex.\u00a0 All of these statements are true reactions to\u00a0Why Go To War\u00a0by people who don’t consider themselves to be professional musicians or ethnomusicologists.\u00a0 \u00a0 William Onyeabor is a Nigerian Funk musician born in March, 1946. Onyeabor was … <\/p>\n

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