Rikki Illilonga & Musi-O-Tunya Wings Of Africa

The realm of Western-influenced African music is consistently dominated by such powerhouse names as Fela Kuti, Victor Uwaifo and other West African legends whose 60s and 70s recordings have been reissued by companies like Soundway, Strut and Analog Africa. One can't possibly hope even to scratch the surface of the continent, however, without giving mention to Zambia's Zamrock scene which, alongside the music that arose in Ethiopia in the late 60s and early 70s, is leagues deep and largely misunderstood.

In the same vein,the genius of multi-instrumentalist Rikki Ililonga, and the famed Musi-O-Tunya band he helped found, have been afforded little international light. Ililonga's charismatic presence and unparrelled musicality - coupled with his ability to pen deeper lyrics than most in the genre - and Musi-O-Tunya's transcendent ability to deal in difficult traditional Zambian rhythms, deep funk and unrestrained fuzz rock in equal measure, have made for some amazing albums.

Now-Again has already tackled his story with their critically acclaimed anthology Dark Sunrise, which catalogs Ililonga and Musi-O-Tunya's debut album Wings of Africa, (The first independently released pop album in Zambia) as well as two Ililonga solo records; Zambia, and Sunshine Love, across a multi-disc set with liner notes and additional ephemera which capture the brilliance and enthusiastic energy of the man's compositions.

In this same spirit, Now-Again now presents re-issues of the three records, housed in beautiful gatefold reproductions of their original packaging. All three albums stand magnificently on their own, and are a must have for any aficionado of world music, and psych-funk splendor.