William Onyeabor
William Onyeabor was a mystery musician who had little or no credible information about him nor about how his music was made, rather there were a lot of rumours and side talk about him. This circumstance has made a lot of resourceful and important information about him lost, but there is always a good side to every story, his music still survives that is the good part and the best part of it is that he is almost being worshiped amongst DJs and fans of Electronic music in America and some parts of Europe. So who is this mystery man whose works are highly rated outside the shores of Nigeria you might ask? This article will break it down as little as possible as there are little credible information about William Onyearbor.
WHO WAS WILLIAM ONYEABOR?
William Onyeabor was born on 26 March 1946, he was a businessman and an Electro Funk musician who also tried his hands in the movie industry, however he was did not attain much success till he tried his hands in music. According to most reports, William went to study Cinematography in Soviet Russia, other sources says he studied Record Engineering in Russia, there was no definite version, only conflicting stories. Upon his return to Nigeria, he started his entertainment company WIlfilms Limited which served as a record label, recording studio, Printing press and a Film production house. He ventured into film making, he made the movie Crashes in Love and also produced a soundtrack with the same title to accompany it. As a businessman, he operated a Semolina flour mill; he was awarded the West African Industrialist of the Year in 1987. Despite being a successful musician, William lived a rather secret life, he disliked press attention, he did not perform his music live, the people around him also maintained the secrecy as well, which was rather mysterious.
WILLIAM ONYEABOR THE MUSICAL GENIUS
William Onyearbor’s music is characterised by the heavy use of synthesisers and Drum Machines to accompany his Electro-Funk and Psychedelic Funk style of music which produces a very strange and very unfamiliar style of music for the period at which he made his songs.
With his genius mind, William pioneered a rather not-so-popular genre which is often overlooked in Nigeria, the Electronic music. He set the template and the track running.
William Onyeabor made music of the future, while it was being enjoyed in the present; little did he know he might have been making music that will be fully appreciated some 30-40 years into the future. His style of music was peculiar to him only, no one else made his style of music. You could not miss it, it was like the ice cream shop at the corner of the street during the summer or the peppersoup joint along the street, you would always recognise it. The synthesisers were not exactly popular amongst musicians and producers in the 70s and 80s as it was considered a lot of trouble to use and also it was very expensive and rare, but William was able to master and use it to produce gems, how he was able to use the synthesisers still remains a mystery. He was just in his own world; where his thoughts and imaginations were brought into reality to the amusement of everyone. He made what might have been considered weird by some people and he had little or no appearance on the press and the social life, this was rather mysterious for a musician.
In his words, “I only composed the type of music that would help the world”. His music was often filled with political themes, addressing the world leaders and his fans all over the world to do better; often time he made party bops and also some socially conscious themed songs. He wrote, recorded, produced his songs and also printed the designs of his album covers all by himself as he owned his own record label, recording studio and printing press, this made him a more mysterious man, how was he able to this all by himself and also afford it? It remains a mystery that remains unanswered.
DISCOGRAPHY
He released nine albums; Crashes in Love (1977), Atomic Bomb (1978), Crashes in Love Vol. 2 (1979), Tomorrow (1979), Body & Soul (1980), Great Lover (1981), Hypertension (1982), Good Name (1983), Anything You Sow (1985). A compilation of his greatest hits titled “Who is William Onyeabor?” was compiled and released in 2013 by Luaka Bop, a label based in the United States of America.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
In 2014, a group named Atomic Bomb! Band was formed; they toured the world playing William Onyeabor’s music at several festivals and concerts. The group is led by Ahmed Gallab. His works are greatly admired in America and Europe amongst the Electronic music fans especially, most notably Four Tet, Dan Snaith. His song “Fantastic Man” was featured in the commercial for iPhone 7 Plus in 2017.
RETIREMENT FROM MUSIC
William gave his life to Christ and became a born again Christian, he soon dropped making music and never spoke about his music anymore, all efforts were abortive.
William made music that was particularly strange for a Nigerian to make in the 70s and 80s as most Nigerians were making Afrobeat, Juju, Rock, Rock and Roll type of music. He was also very talented as he was solely responsible for writing, composing, producing and packaging his music, however, his secretive lifestyle might have hindered his greatness as his restricted himself from the eyes of the public, he did not appear on the social scene to perform his music or socialise with other musicians or make appearances on the press but rather he was present everywhere through his music which was blasting through the speakers at various homes and clubs. But regardless, these factors do not dispute the fact and truth that William Onyeabor was a musical genius who was the Godfather of Electronic music in Nigeria as he pioneered the genre in Nigeria with his genius mind. William Onyeabor died on the 16th of January, 2017 after a brief illness.
