William Onyeabor

The 2013 compilation that introduced the Nigerian musician and bandleader’s music to an international audience, World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? boasts an entirely fitting title for such an enigmatic figure. Born in 1946 in Enugu, Nigeria, Onyeabor travelled to Europe in the early ‘70s to study record manufacturing and purchase the synthesisers and other new technology he brought back to his home studio. Between 1977 and 1985, Onyeabor released a series of albums on which he incorporated these vanguard sounds into his own psychedelicised blend of Nigerian funk and highlife music. Decades after he left music to live a new life as a born-again Christian and successful businessman, interest in his music led to the reissue of his albums. There was also a 2014 tour by The Atomic Bomb Band, an all-star Onyeabor tribute act that has included David Byrne, Damon Albarn, Dev Hynes and other stars wowed by his thrilling and innovative songs. Though he initially avoided talking about his musical past, Onyeabor eventually warmed to the idea of making new music. Alas, his passing in 2017 meant that his whole story would remain unknowable.