Blo was a Nigerian

psychedelic funk Psychedelic funk (also called P-funk or funkadelia, and sometimes conflated with psychedelic soul) is a music genre that combines funk music with elements of psychedelic rock. It was pioneered in the late 1960s and early 1970s by American acts l ...

ensemble formed in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

and active between 1972 and 1982. The main trio consisted of Laolu "Akins" Akintobi (drums), Berkely "Ike" Jones (guitar), and Mike "Gbenga" Odumosu (bass). The group fused the

Afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

rhythms of Nigeria with

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 ...

and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

derived from '60s Western

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

History

The roots of Blo lay in the successful mid-60s

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 ...

group the Clusters, who also performed as a backing band for the Sierra Leonean pop star Geraldo Pino. In 1970, the trio of Akintobi, Jones, and Odumosu left the group to form Afrocollection with sisters Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu, exploring a more

Afro-rock Afro rock is a Rock music, rock music genre that fuses Western rock instrumentation with traditional African musical elements, which emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Influences Afro rock draws heavily from traditional African music styl ...

approach. They collaborated on the

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

project Salt with British drummer

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

in 1971. In late 1972, Akintobi, Jones, Odumosu formed Blo (standing for their names Berkeley, Laolu & Odumosu) and toured prior to recording their debut album ''Chapter One'' for the EMI Nigeria label. The album drew equally on the

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

and Tony Allen as well as

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

from America. For their second album, the group signed to Afrodisia and moved further into funk and R&B territory. Commercial pressure forced the group to move toward more popular styles such as

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

on their later recordings. They disbanded in 1982. In 2009, the label

Strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

reissued many of their recordings on the retrospective ''Phases 1972–1982''.

Legacy

OkayAfrica OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has become ...

'' stated that the group is "considered by many to be the first psych-rock band to emerge from the continent" and credited them with developing "a pioneering fusion in afro-

." '' FT'' called the group's debut "Nigeria's first psychedelic rock record," describing it as "a hypnotic brew of

Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

-esque guitar noodling,

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

-style rhythms and African-accented rock-outs."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

credited the band with developing "a wholly original sound embracing the full spectrum of black music."

Discography

*''Chapter One'' (1973) *''Phase II'' (1974) *''Step Three'' (1975) *''Phase IV'' (1977) *''Bulky Backside'' (1979)

References

{{Reflist Music of Nigeria Afrobeat musicians Psychedelic funk music groups Psychedelic rock music groups Funk musical groups