Demon Fuzz: Afreaka! [MUSIC ON VINYL]

Why you'll love it

This remastered 180g Music On Vinyl pressing was made in the EU from 24-bit files of the original masters. Afreaka! was a Billboard four-star pick on its US issue in 1971, and its grooves have since made it a popular source for sampling.

This edition

• Remastered
• 180g vinyl
• Pressed in the EU
• Stereo mix

About the album

London in 1970 had plenty of heavy bands, and none quite like Demon Fuzz. Every member had come to Britain from the Caribbean Commonwealth, and they mixed rock volume with African rhythms, jazz horns and funk grooves into something all their own. The Red Bus Company booked them onto festival bills at Phun City in Worthing and a Staffordshire farm grandly titled the Hollywood Music Festival, and they played the Marquee during a run of Penny Concerts with Comus and Heron.

Dawn Records, an arm of Pye, put out Afreaka! that same year, with Barry Murray producing, and Janus carried it to America. It's five long tracks of horns, fuzz guitar, organ and rolling percussion, where jazz-funk, prog and Afrobeat meet in the middle. "Past Present and Future" and "Disillusioned Man" stretch out and simmer, "Another Country" heads somewhere moodier, and "Hymn to Mother Earth" was picked up by Philadelphia's WDAS-FM for its Black Rock compilation around 1971. "Mercy (Variation No. 1)" closes the record.

Since 2008 BBC presenters Huey Morgan and Gideon Coe have been spinning it again. The band's name apparently means devil's children or bad policemen, which covers most of the options.

Also at Kops: more Demon Fuzz on vinyl · browse 70s Soul On Up

Tracklist

Listen

On Dawn / Music On Vinyl (cat# MOVLP1935), a reissue of the 1970 album.