Afrobeat from Antibalas: Lead Singer Amayo Channels Fela Kuti

Amayo, as he is known, is lead singer for the New York Afrobeat band Antibalas.

He got his first exposure to the thrill of Afrobeat at the source: In the famous Shrine nightclub of Nigerian Afrobeat king Fela Kuti.

Amayo and his bandmates in Antibalas have just come out with their latest release.

And it’s chock-a-block with that spirit and sound of Fela.

“I think Fela was an amazing dancer,” says Amayo, sharing his thoughts about channeling Fela Kuti on stage.

“For me, being a movement buff, it’s his movements that first attracted me. And movements can express words. You can make your words more effective if you have a movement attached to it. So, if I’m trying to delve into the spirit of Fela, I’m trying to be true to the movement of the word.