WILLIAM ONYEABOR

WILLIAM ONYEABOR ( WHO IS WILLIAM ONYEABOR? )
PSYCHEDELIC BLUES/ROCK - SYNTH AFRO-BEAT - FUTURISTIC NIGERIAN FUNK - INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY

Atomic Bomb - Album Artwork (1978)

MANY rumors have surfaced over the years about the Nigerian Electronic musician known as William Onyeabor.  The Music William composed was also painstakingly played and recorded by Onyeabor, he and himself ALONE...  Commonly referred to as a CONTROL FREAK and INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY, Onyeabor never allowed people in the studio or into his personal life, no matter the circumstance.  Very few people know anything about the eccentric man; Was he born in 1945 or 1946?  Was he truly a miser or just misunderstood? 

Everyone has their own rendition of a story or two but most claims are merely rumors, they haven't been verified.  One thing is for certain, there are only a few people who actually know Onyeabor and most of them leave him alone.  One of Onyeabor's former Music Distributors claims that he pulled a gun on a young kid over some money!  The kid ran to the Police and filed a report, hoping to resolve the issue.  Instead, local Police arrested the kid for "falsifying a police report" claiming that they never found a gun at Onyeabor's home... 

After decades of recording more than a dozen albums, Onyeabor one day decided to never play, sing, perform or even talk about his LIFE or MUSIC.  He turned his back on everything to become a priest... However, in December 2014, William Onyeabor made his first radio appearance on the Lauren Laverne Show on BBC 6 Music, where he stated "I only create music that will help the world" whilst also admitting that he has never played live, and announcing that he had plans to release new material.

Atomic Bomb - Original Music (1978) 

Modern Video (2013)

ONE musician (Damon Albarn) put my feelings exactly into words when he said, "It just sounds so unique, there is nothing else like it!  His use of synthesizers was just insane, it sounds so modern even now.  This is exactly the kind of music I'd love to be able to make."  How did this guy from Nigeria make music so visionary and ahead of it's time, especially when synthesizers were a luxury in Africa, all during a time in which war and a major revolution were occurring?!  Onyeabor even had his own pressing and production facility, in which he was able to cut records at his discretion.

William Onyeabor has suddenly resurfaced in all the right places (New York Times, PitchFork, NPR, The Guardian and Le Monde).  His music has been reissued and is even for sale on many digital music platforms such as iTunes and Amazon.  One small record company in New York City has recently reissued a compilation of Onyeabor's best songs from the 70's and 80's.  Feeling the need to know more about the man they were attempting to work with, they ultimately found themselves with more questions than answers - puzzled!

Fantastic Man - Documentary (run time: 31 minutes)

Many still have no idea how Onyeabor made such prolific music, why he decided to quit playing, where all of his equipment went and if he ever plans to resurface and play music again.  Unable to discover makes us all the more interested in the pursuit to discover WHO IS WILLIAM ONYEABOR?!