Photo: Press
Legendary funk musician from Nigeria, William Onyeabor, has tragically passed away this week on the 16th January, at age 70.
A public statement from David Byrne’s record label, Luaka Bop, confirmed his death, stating “He [William] died peacefully in his sleep following a brief illness, at his home in Enugu, Nigeria. An extraordinary artist, businessman and visionary, Mr. Onyeabor composed and self-released 9 brilliant albums of groundbreaking electronic-funk from 1977-1985, which he recorded, pressed and printed at Wilfilms Limited—his personal pressing plant in southeast Nigeria...”
In 1985, Onyeabor became a born-again Christian and retracted from the music scene, devoting all his time to religion and crediting his musical talent to God as a gift. Shying away from interviews and barring himself from making music again, his discography adopted a mystical permanence that has survived decades of musical paradigm shifts.
In recent years, Onyeabor’s work took on a mesmerising revival with a new wave of fans drawn to his breath-taking career. Luaka Bop released a substantial compilation in 2013 of the artist’s stellar discography, naming it ‘Who is William Onyeabor?’ A year later, a critically-acclaimed documentary ‘Fantastic Man’ was also released, studying the artist’s rise to brilliance, alongside a string of live tribute shows, called ‘Atomic Bomb! Who is William Onyeabor?’, performed by Ghostpoet, Alexis Taylor and Blur/Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn to name a few.
Over the course of his life, Onyeabor was awarded the West African Industrialist of the year award (1980) and honoured with the title ‘Justice of the Peace’. A decade later in 1990 he also became the president of his hometown’s musical union and chairman of the local football squad. In his home-town he is commonly known as ‘The Chief’ and widely considered a philanthropic visionary to many.
Luaka Bop closed their tribute, “We would like to send our deepest condolences to his family and thank each and every one of you who has helped share the love for his music around the world.”
