Mebusas
AcademyLPS Mebusas : Vol1 Blood Brothers -LP/CD- (NI,1973)***°'
No less than 11 members were in this band. Bassist Maurice Ekpo, who previously had been part of Fela's Nigeria 70 before it became Africa 70, said in an interview just before this reissue, that 4 or 6-piece bands were much more common in those days. Mebusas was something else. They were formed in and around some hotels that were the centre of the development of some music, or more specific in the Night Cubs of these hotels called the “Caban Bamboo Nite Club” and “The Octopus”.
The album very much showed a cooperative spirit that must have lived there, being a crossroads of many different influences of genres and the different creative ideas of several of the participating members. It gives the impression of having recorded ideas for live performances with some ideas of musician's solos within the tracks already there.
The album starts most convincingly with a psych-rock energy in deep Afro-beat settings, with organ, electric bass and fuzz guitars and drums and additional brass melody arrangement, and some crazed jazz sax solos, with swinging and intertwining rhythmic layers. The lyrics of the strong lead theme song after this sticks very much with you, and through its well sung changes-through-repetition very much finds its effect. It is about a post-war setting where the singer calls everybody their “blood brothers” who should build this world together. It also shows several great distorted fuzz guitar solos, and has subtle orchestrations created in the background. Very direct and soulful and with interesting elements! The next track, “I wanna do it” has more simplistic lyrics, and adapts the 'funk element' in an Afro-way. It sounds more style-inspired, partly a cover of an idea, is less interesting for its simple repeated brass accents ; it shows itself as an effective public-teasing idea for live gigs. This still leaves room for psychedelic monotony with some sax solos, some screams of the singer, and a melodic small brass arrangement. “Return-Pada” has a strange combination of light Caribbean influences in the singing and rhythms. Also this evolves to incorporate strange rock elements and fuzz wah-wah solos and odd screams. “Mr.Buldog” again is an Afro-Funk track comparable to the previous “I wanne do it”, especially as another good live idea but also it is another less creatively surprising track. But once more also here, within a certain more limited musical idea of repetition, more wild psych electric guitars can be heard as well. Even further away from the most creative afro-rock elements is “Grooving out on line”, influenced by Bob Marley, with smooth arrangements by the same band. “Kwashioko” turns the groove one switch higher, with wah-wah guitars and sax and also trumpet solos are grooving amongst other and different, rather funky layers of instruments (organ, guitar, bass, drums). A strange switch again with “Do You Know”, an early 60s styled night bar crooner with contradictory shaky Afro-hand rhythms and a couple of twang rhythm guitars. Also here some nice trumpet solos here and there. “Good Bye Friends” sounds like a continuation of this atmosphere, like an, actually well done, 60s Beatlesque cover with harmony vocals and to a degree crazed arrangements of nervous rhythm guitars, clearly a good night bar setting. As a musical starting point this seems to be the opposite from where the album started, but in the light of the night Hotels it is comprehensible : all of that had lived a real life. ...
Not only the most creative explorations were fully expressed and in the middle of further development, the elements of entertainment, even with British and Caribbean associations were all possible, something to enjoy.
