Alhaji (Chief) Prof. Kollington Ayinla And His Fuji '78 Organisation – Blessing

Label: Soul Jazz / Kollington

Reissued 2020, Originally released 1978

This is the first in Soul Jazz Records' new series of one-off pressings of limited-edition 1000 copies vinyl-only releases of Afro-funk/Afro-beat exact-replica, super-rare albums that were previously only ever released in Nigeria. The series starts with Kollington Ayinla's celebrated 1978 album 'Blessing,' a rare lost classic of Nigerian Fuji music, featuring Ayinla's sharp political lyrics together with his new band Fuji '78. 'Blessing' blends the heavily percussive style of Fuji music with a stunning array of modern instruments, including synthesizers, Bata drums and guitars, to create one of the most forward-thinking and heavily danceable sounds ever to come out of Nigeria - a highly successful mixture of profound Fuji rhythms and Fela Kuti-style Afrobeat. Kollington Ayinla ranks alongside his friend and competitor Ayinde Barrister as the two most important artists to dominate Fuji music from it's inception in the 1970s through to the 1990s by which time it had grown to become one of the most popular dance genres in Nigeria. At the start of the 1980s Ayinla started his own record company, Kollington Records, to release his music and remains to this day an extremely prolific artist, having recorded over 50 albums, most of which have never been released outside of Nigeria. Side A 1. E Ye Ika Se 2. Oromo Adie Fo 3. Ko S'Ohun Tan O Le Fi Gberaga 4. Adio Shile 5. Won Ti Gbe Oye Fun Mi Side B 1. Pataki L'Omo 2. To Ba Jisoro Mi 3. Engineer Olatunji / Iya Suna 4. Odun Titun De 5. Ao Toro EMI Gesa Fun Enia 6. Ki Aiye Ma Gbagbe Mi

Track listing:

1. E Ye Ika Se
2. Oromo Adie Fo
3. Ko S'Ohun Tan O Le Fi Gberaga
4. Adio Shile
5. Won Ti Gbe Oye Fun Mi
6. Pataki L'Omo
7. To Ba Jisoro Mi
8. Engineer Olatunji / Iya Suna
9. Odun Titun De
10. Ao Toro Emi Gesa Fun Enia
11. Ki Aiye Ma Gbagbe Mi