Confusion is a 1975 album by Nigerian Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti and his Africa 70 band. Kuti recorded the album after choosing to emphasize his African heritage and nationalism in his music. The album is a commentary on the confused state of post-colonial Lagos and its lack of infrastructure and proper leadership at the time.
About Confusion (album) in brief
Confusion is a 1975 album by Nigerian Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti and his Africa 70 band. It was arranged, composed, and produced by Kuti, who recorded the album after choosing to emphasize his African heritage and nationalism in his music. The album is a commentary on the confused state of post-colonial Lagos and its lack of infrastructure and proper leadership at the time. In reviews since the record’s release by EMI, the album was praised by music critics, who found it exemplary of Kuti’s Afro Beat style and recommended it as a highlight from his extensive catalog. In both 2000 and 2010, Confusion was reissued and bundled with Kuti’s 1973 Gentleman album. The music is complemented by his outspoken call-and-response vocal passages. The song’s final 10 minutes comprise raucous trumpet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, and lead vocals. Its closing section revisits the abstract interplay of the introduction of the first side of the album. It is a one-song album with a duration of 25 minutes and 36 seconds.
It begins with a free-form introduction, which musically depicts the disorienting impact of Lagos’ problems, according to music scholar Frank Thurmond Fairfax. Although Kuti occasionally used amplified instruments, he rarely employed elaborate electronic effects and instead relied on more natural sounds. In 1969, he toured with his band in Los Angeles and was introduced by a friend to the writings of black nationalist and Afrocentrist figures such as Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver. Kuti dubbed his hybrid style “Afrobeat”, which served in part as his critique of African performers who he felt had forsaken their native musical roots for American popular music trends. He revisited the theme on Confusion in 1974 to acknowledge that he identifies with the city despite its problems. On his 1973 song “Eko lie”, Kuti declared that the Nigerian city of Lago was his home rather than London or New York City, where he had performed earlier in his career.
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