The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria

The World Ends is the latest title from Soundway Records showcasing a wave of guitar-driven and psychedelic groups that sprung up in Nigeria during the early 1970s. Featuring thirty-two electrifying and funk-laden grooves, this is the sound of a generation attempting to pick up the pieces after the devastation of the Nigerian civil war. Spread over two CDs, this bumper collection is brimming with youthful exuberance, fuzzed-out guitar and cosmic organ vibes and owes much to the psychedelic sounds of Jim Morrison, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and James Brown. As the Summer of Love was blossoming in London and San Francisco, Nigeria was imploding into civil war. Also known as the Biafra War of 1967, it was a grisly conflict taking over three million lives, yet at the same time the country was being pulled apart, there was a new world beginning. The tracks featured represent a forgotten chapter in Nigeria's musical history when the youth threw their varied morsels into the pot, from hard rock to psychedelic soul, when guitars were cherished instruments, symbolic of a new movement, when highlife and Afrobeat played second fiddle to "the beat." Includes a 44-page booklet packed with rare photos and extensive liner notes.