Like Jive Time faves Cymande and Osibisa, Akido were a multinational group of Black musicians who were based in England in the 1970s and who made fantastic music. But Akido are much more obscure than those non-mainstream bands, mainly because they only cut one album, Akido, and on top of that, it has remained oop on vinyl since its original release year, 1972. Maybe this review will spur some enterprising label to reissue this wonderful record, he said quixotically…
The strangest fact about Akido is that Small Faces/Faces bassist Ronnie Lane produced it. That likely came about because Akido’s Ghanaian percussionist Speedy Acquaye had played with Lane on Small Faces and Faces sessions. (Acquaye also contributed to records by Rod Stewart, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Rolling Stones, Third World War, and John Martyn, among others.) Though Speedy had connections to rock royalty, Akido themselves did not rock like those cats. Rather, they—including Nigerian Biddy Wright (bass, vocals), Jamaican Jeff Whitaker (congas), and British Peter Andrews (guitar)—flitted among psychedelia, funk, jazz, Afrobeat, and other African musics. And they did so spectacularly.
Album opener “Awade (We Have Come)” will sound familiar to anyone who’s heard Kruder & Dorfmeister’s “Deep Shit,” as those German producers sampled the song’s female/male African chants. “Awade” uses urgent hand drums, nimbly bobbing bass, and a brain-twisting guitar solo to forge a hard-charging spiritual jazz burner that’ll make you sweat out all of your impurities—yes, even yours. “Midnight Lady” is a lean, slashing, psychedelic groover that would segue well into Shocking Blue‘s “Love Machine.”
The bustling Afrobeat cut “Jo Jo Lo (Delicate Beauty)” would leave Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 breathless with its highly percussive shuffle; Speedy definitely earns his name here. Similarly, “Wajo (Come And Dance)” deploys heavy double-time slaps on the tom-toms, soulful vocals by uncredited women singers, and scalding, Peter Green-like guitar slashes in order to get hips shaking, butts wiggling, arms pumping, heads bobbing, etc. The intensely chugging funk heater “Blow” packs the rhythmic wallop of Babatunde Olatunji with the guitar attack of Phil Upchurch at his most aggressive. No need for singing here; just let the instrumentalists cook. “Confusion,” the album’s most rugged rocker, sounds like Santana on dexies.
Akido peaks on “Psychedelic Baby,” an insanely catchy psych-pop dancer that I plan to spin in as many DJ gigs as possible for the rest of my life. This obviously should’ve been the LP’s hit single, but because the music biz’s gatekeepers are, as the British like to say, “thick as a brick,” that didn’t transpire. Gotta say, there’s something utterly enchanting about Africans singing in English, and that element just adds luster to this classic. “Happy Song” is basically a funkier variation on the “Psychedelic Baby” theme, and therefore a winsome gem that’ll make you forget most of your worries—a major feat in 2025. -Buckley Mayfield
Located in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, Jive Time is always looking to buy your unwanted records (provided they are in good condition) or offer credit for trade. We also buy record collections.
