orlando julius & ashiko: love, peace & happiness

Hot Casa present an official reissue of Orlando Julius & Ashiko's Love, Peace & Happiness, originally released in 1978. A hard to find, pure Afro funk spiritual grail by the Afro soul maestro. Born in 1943 in Ikole-Ekiti in Ondo State, Nigeria, Orlando Julius Ekemode (Orlando was really a nickname, taken from the Nigerian actor, Orlando Martins) started in music at an early age, becoming the school drummer and learning flute, bugle, and other instruments at St Peters Anglican School in Ikole-Ekiti. A Nigerian musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he is credited as one of the first musicians to fuse US R&B into traditional highlife music, creating his own influential Afrobeat sound during the mid-60s. From his time playing in the USA during the 1970s onwards, he is credited with bringing African music to a broader audience and famously co-composed the song "Going Back To My Roots" with Lamont Dozier. In 1978, Orlando Julius Ekemode decided to produce this amazing session, originally recorded between Maryland and West Virginia, and released in limited quantity in Nigeria by the obscure label Jungle Records. Six stunning monster Afro funk tracks, recorded by eight musicians based in Oakland. Fully licensed with the artist and remastered by Carvery. Essential!