SAXON LEE and the SHADOWS INTERNATIONAL - DAMN That Shit is GOOD!

I have been listening to the song "Mind Your Business" non stop for the past three days. And I still can't get enough.

Being an obsessive audiophile whose music listening habits average about 10 hours a day / 5 days a week of heavily distorted music, my eardrums often scream for a break from so much heaviness. When that happens I often times go back to one of those Afro Beat compilations issued by Soundway Records. The feeling I get from those are exactly the opposite of what I get from metal; relaxation, tranquility, peace, calm. And frankly, the desire that those beats would go on forever.

Like every good audiophile, I can't love only one style. Having grown up in Latin America my early years were molded by Latin music. Styles like salsa and cumbia were loathed in my youth. Now that I am older and wiser, I can listen to some of those oldies that blasted on South American radio non-stop and appreciate them for what they are. I believe I owe this music open-mindedness to my love for Afro Beat.

Like most. I came to Afro Beat by way of  Fela Kuti. This must have been in the late 90's. I was in college, deep into pot smoking, heavy drinking, couch-potatoing and foreign movies. The depth of Kuti's music, the layering of instrumentation, the extended jams and the free-flowing nature of his compositions converted me into a fanatic. It would be a good few years until Soundway Records would start issuing the Nigerian High Life comps, but my taste buds were by him forever changed.

What can I say about this beautiful song that can't be thought after its deep appreciation? That its funky guitars are sick. That the vocalist's raspy voice is also smooth? That's its intangible soul and funk influences are palpable? And much more...

According to the Soundway website

Saxon Lee & The Shadows International were born out of The Martins Brothers Dance Band, which was originally based in Port Harcourt. They started back in the 1960s and made afrobeat part of their repertoire, quite soon after Fela began his string of hits with Africa 70. Mind Your Business was first released as a shorter 45 version on Decca’s Afrodisia Records before being re-recorded on this LP from 1973. The singer Pax Nicholas later went on to record a solo LP (Na Teef Know de Road of Teef) for Tabansi records.

And that's all we need to know.