Akalaka/The Power (Vinyl 12″ Album) – Victor Chukwa/Uncle Victor Chuks & The Black Iroko

A double helping of old-school Igbo highlife from one of the genre’s acknowledged masters, Victor Chukwu. Highlife was the music that the Igbo people made their own after the horrors of the Biafran war; music that rebuilt a sense of pride, identity and dignity. These sets were probably recorded around 1977-79 at the Tabansi Studios in Onitsha, with Chief Tabansi also mixing and mastering: a 100% homegrown Tabansi product. Victor worked with a bassist, a drummer, and some brass – although he also doubled himself on tenor sax and arranged much of these glorious sessions.