Pax Nicholas

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Pax Nicholas (born August 7, 1954 in Accra ) - also known as Nicholas Addo-Nettey - is a Ghanaian singer and percussionist. He is one of the few still musically active former members of Fela Kuti's legendary band Africa 70. In 2009, the re-release of his solo album "Na Teef Know De Road Of Teef" from 1973 with the renowned New York Funk'n´ helped him Soul label Daptone Records later became famous. With his current band Ridimtaksi, he combines classic and modern Afrobeat with American soul and Ghanaian highlife .

Accra (1954–1971)

Pax Nicholas started his musical career at the age of six as a singer in a gospel choir in his hometown of Accra. In the following years he was active as a singer, percussionist and dancer in various cultural groups. As a teenager, like many of his contemporaries in Ghana, he was enthusiastic about American soul - Otis Redding , James Brown , Wilson Pickett were his role models. In 1970 the well-known Nigerian guitarist Joe King Kologbo hired him as a soul singer for his Afro-Boateng`s Hykkers Band, with whom he toured Ghana for almost a year. In 1971 he was invited by Kologbo to Lagos, Nigeria - at that time one of the strongholds of modern African music. His hopes for musical success, which he associated with the move, would come true sooner than Pax had thought possible. Kologbo introduced him to Fela Kuti, who at the time was about to become one of the most successful African musicians of all time with the Afrobeat he and his drummer Tony Allen had created - an explosive mixture of traditional African styles with Afro-American soul, funk and jazz become.

Lagos (1971-1978)

After Fela Kuti had convinced himself of his skills, Pax Nicholas became a full member of Africa 70 as a background singer and conga player in 1972. The first record on which Pax played was “Shakara”, one of Fela's greatest hits. In the following years, as part of Africa 70, Pax experienced the international triumph of Afrobeat. When they weren't on tour with the band's own jet, they played in Felas Club, the legendary Shrine. Pax recalls: “People came there from all over the world in order to learn about Afrobeat. James Brown, BB King , Ginger Baker , Stevie Wonder , Paul McCartney , Manu Dibango , only to name a few - I've been with all of them. ”Like numerous other musicians, friends and women, Pax also spent a lot of time in Felas Kalakuta Republic , a property in Lagos that Fela had declared independent and challenged the military in Nigeria at the time. The offensive criticism of the Nigerian dictatorship and neo-colonial conditions in Africa was omnipresent in Felas' songs as well. The military reacted with brutal repression, which also directly affected the Africa 70 members. In 1977 there was another raid in the Kalakuta Republic, in the course of which Fela, Pax and most of the other musicians were arrested. Pax spent almost a year in the notorious Alagbon Close prison, during which he was repeatedly tortured. According to Pax 'statements, Fela behaved not only towards his wives, but also towards his musicians like a tyrannical patriarch: "[...] here was the big contradiction: Fela talked a lot about freedom, but he himself behaved like a slave master to us . I really must admit that he treated us very badly. There was a lot of brutality going on in Kalakuta. ”With the exception of the drummer and musical director Tony Allen, the musicians were paid very poorly and were mistreated by Fela and his henchmen even with minor actual or alleged offenses, as Pax can confirm from personal experience. The great dissatisfaction of many musicians with Felas' regime and the constant threat from the military in Nigeria ensured that Pax Nicholas, Tony Allen and some other Africa 70 members split from Fela in 1978. Their last concert together took place as part of the Jazz Festival in the Berlin Philharmonic. By deciding not to return to Lagos with Fela, they sealed the end of Africa 70.

Berlin (1978 until today)

While Tony Allen went to Paris, Pax stayed where he played his last concert with Africa 70: in Berlin. In the 1980s and 1990s he made a name for himself in the African music scene in Berlin with various band projects and percussion workshops. Between 2003 and 2007 there was a collaboration with the internationally successful Finnish saxophonist Jimi Tenor , with whom he recorded the two albums “Beyond the Stars” and “Joy Stone”. In 2003 he founded the Afrobeat band Rhythm Taxi with musicians from West Africa and Berlin, which was later renamed Ridimtaksi and brings Afrobeat and Afro-Soul to the stage with Pax Nicholas as band leader, singer and percussionist. With Ridimtaksi, Pax Nicholas opened the concert by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings in Berlin's Huxley's in October 2010 .

"Na Teef Know De Road Of Teef"

In 2008 it came to a very fortunate coincidence for Pax. The DJ and record collector Frank Gossner, who specializes in funk and afrobeat, had tracked down a solo album by Pax from 1973 that it was under the name "Pax Nicholas and the Nettey Family" with the Martin Brothers Band from the Nigerian port city of Portharcourt and some Africa 70 musicians. The record was recorded without Fela's knowledge on the leading Nigerian label Tabansi in the famous former studio of Ginger Baker. When Fela first heard the record, he is said to have been angry about going it alone and to have used his great influence to prevent further DJs and radio stations in Nigeria from playing. So "Na Teef" disappeared from the surface for over three decades, until Frank Gossner found a copy in a record store in Philadelphia and presented it to his friends at Daptone Records, who agreed to be re-released. The album was released in September 2009 and helped Pax Nicholas gain later recognition. The liaison with Daptone also led to the aforementioned appearance by Pax Nicholas and Ridimtaksi with Sharon Jones at Huxley's in Berlin in October 2010.

Discography

year title Artist Label
1972 Mind your business Saxon Lee Tabansi
1972 Shakara Fela Kuti Barclay
1973 Na Teef Know de Road of Teef Pax Nicholas Tabansi
1973 Afrodisiac Fela Kuti Barclay
1973 gentlemen Fela Kuti Barclay
1974 Confusion Fela Kuti Barclay
1974 Hey Miss Road Fela Kuti Barclay
1975 Jealousy Tony Allen Sound workshop
1975 Alagbon Close Fela Kuti Barclay
1975 Everything scatter Fela Kuti Barclay
1975 Excuse O Fela Kuti Barclay
1975 Expensive shit Fela Kuti Barclay
1975 Monkey banana Fela Kuti Barclay
1975 Noise For Vendor Mouth Fela Kuti Barclay
1976 Ikoyi blindness Fela Kuti Barclay
1976 Kalakuta show Fela Kuti Barclay
1976 Well poi Fela Kuti Barclay
1976 Unnecessary begging Fela Kuti Barclay
1976 Upside down Fela Kuti Barclay
1976 Yellow fever Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 progress Tony Allen Phonogram
1977 Fear Not For Man Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 JJD - Live At Kalakuta Republic Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 No agreement Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 Opposite people Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 Sorrow Tears And Blood Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 Stalemates Fela Kuti Barclay
1977 zombie Fela Kuti Barclay
2002 Dwellers on the threshold Tarwater Kitty-yo
2004 Beyond the stars Jimi tenor Kitty-yo
2006 Remember Fela Oghene Kologbo Rabbi Records
2007 Joy Stone Jimi tenor Ubiquity Records
2009 African Chamber Mapstation Scape
2009 Na Teef Know de Road of Teef Pax Nicholas Daptone Records

Web links

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  1. ^ Matti Steinitz: To Challenge A King. In: Wax Poetics. No. 39, 2010, pp. 39-43.
  2. ↑ http://africanmusic.org/artists/felakuti.html (May 14, 2011)
  3. ↑ Matti Steinitz Intoxication and Rhythm . In: Der Tagesspiegel , October 18, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  4. ^ Matti Steinitz: To Challenge A King. In: Wax Poetics. No. 39, 2010, p. 41.
  5. ^ Matti Steinitz: Interview with Nicholas Addo-Nettey. In: LoNam. No. 10, 2008, pp. 26-27.
  6. ^ Matti Steinitz: To Challenge A King. In: Wax Poetics. No. 39, 2010, p. 43.
  7. ↑ Matti Steinitz Intoxication and Rhythm . In: Der Tagesspiegel , October 18, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ http://www.pax-nicholas.com/history.html (May 14, 2011)
  9. ↑ http://www.voodoofunk.com/ (May 14, 2011)
  10. ↑ Pax Nicholas and The Nettey Family ( Memento of 29 December 2012 at the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Nicholas, Pax
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Addo-Nettey, Nicholas (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ghanaian singer and percussionist
DATE OF BIRTH 7th August 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Accra