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Artist
Orlando Julius
12+ albums
afrobeatnigeriaafricanworldfunk
about
Orlando Julius (born Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode, 1943) is 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. He still plays and records regularly today. An indigene of Ilesha in Osun State, Orlando Julius Ekemode was born in Ikole-Ekiti to a trading family. His father first traded in Abeokuta before moving to Ikole-Ekiti where he was given a piece of land by the traditional ruler of the town and encouraged to settle there. Orlando was the fourth son in the family and the younger brother of Professor Gabriel Ekemode of the University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). His journey into music began at an early age when he was a pupil of St. Peter’s Anglican School, Ikole-Ekiti, learning drums, flute, bugle and other instruments. He played drums and flute for the school band, as well as for a local group known as Mambo Dance Band. After finishing school in 1957 and, following the death of his father in the same year, he left Ikole-Ekiti for Ibadan (then capital of the Western region) in search of a job. Whilst in the city, he worked as a bakery assistant and at the same time, tried t
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albums
Disco Hi-Life
Jaiyede Afro
Super Afro Soul
All Stars Soul International
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nigeria afrobeat special: the new explosive sound in 1970's nigeria
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Nigeria 70 - Funky Lagos
Afro Hi Life Classics Volume 1
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Sömestr
Back to My Roots: The Very Best of Orlando Julius (Afrobeat, Funk, Soul & Highlife from the '60s-'80s)
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Back To My Roots: The Very Best of Orlando Julius - Afrobeat, Funk, Soul & Highlife From The '60s-'80s
Jaiyede Afro (With The Heliocentrics)
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Nigeria 70 Vol. 1