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The Atomic Bomb! Band are a touring supergroup who play the music of Nigerian
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
musician
William Onyeabor William Ezechukwu Onyeabor (, ; 26 March 1946 – 16 January 2017) was a Nigerian funk musician and businessman. His music was widely heard in Nigeria in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite his success, he remained an enigmatic, private, an ...
. The core group is music director Ahmed Gallab and his band
Sinkane Sinkane (born Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab ) is a Sudanese-American musician who blends krautrock, prog rock, electronica, free jazz and funk rock with Sudanese Pop music, pop. He is signed to City Slang Records. Born to college professors in London, ...
(composed of Jason Trammell on drums, Ish Montgomery on bass and Jonny Lam on guitar),
Alexis Taylor Alexis Taylor (born 20 April 1980) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist of the band Hot Chip. He is also the keyboardist of the band About Group and has released solo ...
(of
Hot Chip Hot Chip is an English synth-pop band formed in London in 2000. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard (musician), Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former memb ...
),
Pat Mahoney Patrick Morgan (Pat) Mahoney, (January 20, 1929 – June 8, 2012) was a Canadians, Canadian judge, politician, lawyer and businessman. Mahoney was first elected to parliament in the 1968 Canadian federal election, 1968 election as the Libe ...
(of
LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...
),
Money Mark Mark Ramos Nishita (born February 10, 1960), known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Early life Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawai ...
(of the
Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...
)
Lekan Babalola Olalekan Babalola (born ) is a Nigerian jazz percussionist and musician. Born in Lagos, Nigeria where he began playing the conga at a young age, he has released seven albums and jointly won two Grammy Awards. Early life and education Babalola ...
and Jas Walton (of
Antibalas Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") is an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band founded in 1998 by Martín Perna. Initially inspired by Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra, the music generally follows ...
).


Style

William Onyeabor took the classical
HighLife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...
style of West Africa into a more electronic and individualised approach, merging it with the approach to music to be found in groups like
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
,
Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...
,
Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
and
Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...
, while retaining the aspects of style which informed early hip-hop and rap. To a great extent Atomic Bomb! returns the style to a more instrumental band-based approach, as the use of a huge backing choir and the combination of several bands using a wider range of instruments shows, although the more folk-ethnic approach of Hi-Life in the 1950s and 60s has largely disappeared. The project has some similarities to other quasi-symphonic theme-based projects generally classified as Concept Album work in the 1970s, of the type more commonly associate with groups like Yes and Genesis, which were dismissed as excessive by the music industry in the mid 1970s. The work therefore bridges that gap and presents a new, or rather resuscitated, path forwards in an industry which is looking for direction.


Featured guests

The group has also featured special guests including
David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...
(of
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads
),
Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...
(of Blur and
Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...
), the
Lijadu Sisters Kehinde Lijadu (22 October 1948 – 9 November 2019) and Taiwo Lijadu (born 22 October 1948) were identical twin sisters from Nigeria who performed as the Lijadu Sisters from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. They achieved success in Nigeria, and als ...
,
Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
,
Jamie Lidell James Alexander Lidderdale (born 18 September 1973), known professionally as Jamie Lidell, is an English musician, soul singer and podcast host. Lidell was formerly a part of Super Collider. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, US. Career Lidel ...
,
Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman a ...
,
Kele Okereke Rowland Kelechukwu "Kele" Okereke (born 13 October 1981), also known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Kele, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Part ...
(of
Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band that was formed in London, England, London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar). Their first four albums all featur ...
), Luke Jenner (of
The Rapture The Rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still a ...
),
Ghostpoet Ghostpoet (born Obaro Ejimiwe; 18 January 1983) is a British vocalist, songwriter and musician. He released five critically acclaimed albums with two being nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. Based in Berlin, he has expanded his work t ...
,
Dev Hynes Devonté Hynes (born David Joseph Michael Hynes, 23 December 1985), also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, composer and director based in New York City. From 2004 to 2006, ...
(aka Blood Orange / Lightspeed Champion), Wally DeBacker (
Gotye Wouter André De Backer (; born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye ( , , ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbr ...
),
Young Fathers Young Fathers are a Scottish Progressive rap, progressive hip hop group formed in Edinburgh in 2008. Their second EP, ''Tape Two'' (2013), won the Scottish Album of the Year Award. In 2014, they won the Barclaycard Mercury Prize, Mercury Prize ...
,
Mahotella Queens The Mahotella Queens is a South African female band formed in 1964 by music producer Rupert Bopape, consisting of Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu, and Amanda Nkosi. The group is noted for their distinct vocal harmony sound, guitar-led mbaqanga ...
, Andrew Ashong,
Zap Mama Zap Mama is a Belgian singer-songwriter, performer, composer, lyricist, activist, video artist and ethno-vocal therapist born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised in Belgium. Zap Mama sings polyphonic and afro-pop music, a harmonic music ...
, Charles Lloyd,
Cheikh Lô Cheikh N'Digel Lô (born 12 September 1955) is a Senegalese musician. Early life He was born to Senegalese parents in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and began playing drums and singing at an early age. Career In 1976, he joined Orchestre Volta Ja ...
,
Peaking Lights Peaking Lights are a husband-and-wife music duo who met in San Francisco in 2006 and moved to Spring Green, Wisconsin in December 2007 where they lived until 2009. The couple then moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where they stayed until their return t ...
, David Murray,
Para One Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (born 2 April 1979), known professionally as Para One, is a French electronic music record producer, producer and film director. Music career Laubier first came to prominence as one of the main producers of French rap ...
, Mike Floss, Moses Sumney, Sarah Jones,
Green Gartside Green Gartside (born Paul Julian Strohmeyer; 22 June 1955) is a Welsh singer, songwriter and musician. He is the frontman of the band Scritti Politti. Early life Gartside was born on 22 June 1955 in Cardiff, Wales, to a "Cup-a-Soup salesman dad ...
and Amadou and Mariam.


First release

The band released their first recorded material with a limited six-track LP on
Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
, 22 April 2017.


References

{{reflist Funk musical groups Musical groups established in 2014 Supergroups (music) Luaka Bop artists Afrobeat musicians