william-onyeabor

It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we have to announce that the great Nigerian business leader and mythic music pioneer William Onyeabor has passed away at the age of 70. He died peacefully in his sleep following a brief illness, at his home in Enugu, Nigeria. An extraordinary artist, businessman and visionary, Mr. Onyeabor composed and self-released 9 brilliant albums of groundbreaking electronic-funk from 1977-1985, which he recorded, pressed and printed at Wilfilms Limited—his personal pressing plant in southeast Nigeria“. Luaka Bop announcement

William Onyeabor died on Monday, while sleeping at the age of 70 at his home, Nigeria. He was one of the pioneers in synth-funk musi, and especially within the period 1977-1985 he succeeded in taking funk one step further with his distinctive use of synths.

In 1985, he became a born-again Christian ‘erasing’ his past and music since then. Rediscovered the last decade, Onyeabor stated on his first ever radio appearance on BBC 6 Music: “I only create music that will help the world.

Yes you did…

Christos Doukakis

Short documentary about “Fantastic Man” Onyeabor: