Happy 25th Anniversary to The Daktaris’ Soul Explosion, originally released September 1, 1998.
During much of the 1990s, there wasn’t much of a market for throwback funk and soul. Sure, local golden era-inspired groups could and did build followings in major metropolitan areas by playing live in clubs and larger venues, but they rarely were able to offer physical product for consumers to enjoy at their own leisure. And even if these groups did press up material, it wasn’t clear if the consumers would spend their money on it.
Twenty-five years ago, Michael Wagner and the staff of Desco Records made releasing albums of this nature work by creating a group that didn’t exist, but could have. The label released a fake “lost” album by a non-existent group. Soul Explosion, the first and only album by The Daktaris, is one of the great funk and afrobeat albums of the “modern” era.
The Daktaris were primarily the brainchild of guitarist/trombonist Michael Wagner, producer/musician Gabe Roth, and record collector Phillip Lehman. The three were instrumental in the creation of Desco Records, a New York-based imprint that specialized in limited pressings of raw soul and funk records. The groups were frequently based in the New York City area and were often influenced by artists like Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, and Kool & The Gang, among others. The label decided that the key to selling vintage-sounding soul/funk would come through mining music lovers’ nostalgia.
Desco first discovered this tactic through an early release on the label: The Revenge of Mister Mopoji (1996) by Mike Jackson and The Soul Providers. They marketed the project as the reissue of a soundtrack to an obscure 1970s Kung-Fu flick. Of course, the film also didn’t actually exist, but that didn’t stop record collectors from buying the project and then swearing that they’d heard about the soundtrack before. Though the project was a hit for Desco, when the imprint released a follow-up by The Soul Providers featuring all-new material, those same collectors were completely uninterested.
Let it be said: everyone involved with the creation and execution of the mostly instrumental Soul Explosion fully committed to the bit. The name “Daktaris” was inspired by Daktari, a kids-oriented drama that CBS broadcast during the late 1960s, centered on a doctor and his daughter’s efforts to protect animals in East Africa. The name sounded authentic and the show it referenced was just obscure enough so as to not tip anyone’s hand. The album’s cover prominently displayed “Produced in Nigeria.” Someone attached to the project, likely Roth, penned flowery, effusive liner notes to go along with the release. Under the guise of Peter Franklin of the fictious Abidjan Musique, Roth(?) wrote that “The Daktaris is an army of two hundred African Bull Elephants marching relentlessly up your business to the beat from Funky Drummer.”
Most of the band members listed in Soul Explosion’s credits are completely fictious, creations of the imagination of Tunde Adebimpe, Wagner’s roommate and future frontman of TV on the Radio. A few genuine articles were slipped in the mix, including JoJo Kuo (listed as Jo Jo Quo on the record), a drummer/percussionist who recorded and performed with Fela. Kuo’s presence bolsters the project’s authenticity, as he delivers much of the vocals that appear on Soul Explosion.
It's doubtful the concept behind The Daktaris would fly today, as a group of mostly Brooklyn-based white guys posing as Nigerians would now be considered pretty questionable. By all accounts, Wagner and his collection of musicians had recorded the album at least a year prior, out of their love for Afro-Beat/Afro-Funk, then shelved it after fearing that a label wouldn’t know what to do with it. Desco came up with the “reissue” approach only after the fact.
Listen to the Album:
Of course, it helps that Soul Explosion is an excellent album, rather than a curio with a fascinating back story. But the band delivered an adoring tribute to 1970s Afro Beat that stands up on its own merits. Soul Explosion was built with a lot of reverence towards its influences, but doesn’t just regurgitate what came before. The 11 heavy Afro Beat jams on the project would shine during any time period, each exuding a timeless quality.
Like the music of Fela Kuti, The Daktaris’ proverbial guiding star, many of the songs on Soul Explosion are built around towering horn arrangements. Given the subterfuge that is the album’s liner notes, it’s hard to tell just how many players make up the horn section, but the album is filled with all sorts of saxophones, trumpets, and trombones, creating a thunderous wall of sound. The group also adds in flutes, clarinets, and melodicas, keeping things properly esoteric.
The Daktaris open Soul Explosion with “Musicawa Slit” parts 1 and 2, expanded covers of Hailu Mergia and The Walias’ “Musicawi Slit.” The Wallas were an Ethiopian based backing-band who supported Mulatu Astake and many other of the country's most well-known acts. The Daktaris meet the funkiness of the original, while incorporating a flute to replace the organ and piano solos.
Soul Explosion features two other covers, as The Daktaris contribute gritty renditions of James Brown’s “Give It Up Or Turnit Loose” and Fela Kuti’s “Upside Down.” The former goes hand in hand with the latter, and Brown was one of Kuti’s favorite acts and biggest influences. Both songs add further layers of dust and funk to the original compositions. “Voodoo Soul Stew” evokes King Curtis’ “Memphis Soul Stew,” as Kuo mutters the concoction’s ingredients over a thick groove. The horns and the guitar play off of each other, repeating patterns and creating a musical call and response.
The most oft-cited giveaway that everything isn’t completely on the up-and-up here is “Etlsuhb Ibal Lasiti,” which reads as “It’s All a Big Hustle” backwards. Though the track is propelled by its powerful horn arrangements, the layered and shuffling drums and percussions are its most distinctive aspect. The rhythm carries the track, setting the framework as the group adds intricate guitar work as well as trumpet and trombone solos.
An even more apparent giveaway at the time period when the album was really recorded is “Modern Technology.” The first few seconds of the song are an in-studio discussion about the feared Y2K bug and how “the year 2000 is coming,” which clearly would not be a topic of conversation during the 1970s. Neither would a fear over society’s over-reliance on computers, which Kuo riffs about in Fela-like fashion throughout the song’s length.
“Super Afro Beat” is Soul Explosion’s most upbeat composition, designed to bring people to the dancefloor. The stuttering horns back up the layered guitar arrangements, which shine in their complexity. “Daktari Walk” strikes a triumphant tone, sounding like it should be the theme music for a regal procession. Amongst this majesty, one would think another extended flute solo would be out of place on a song mostly characterized by precision-like salvos of horns, but it works quite well.
Twenty-five years after the initial release of Soul Explosion, the throwback soul scene is thriving. Desco Records folded, but was soon reborn in 2001 as Daptone, which built itself around the music of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. The label has released more than 150 singles and 50 albums in roughly the last two decades, including a reissue of Soul Explosion in 2004.
Meanwhile, there are now many labels that specialize in current music that sounds like it was recorded 50 or 60 years ago. Colemine, G.E.D. Soul, Funk Night, and others provide offerings from artists around the world who are inspired by music royalty of the past on 45, LP, and digitally. Imprints like Now Again and the Numero Group center on reissuing often obscure funk and soul releases and compilations originally released during funk and soul’s golden age. At the same time, more established singers and groups have increasingly adapted the vintage aesthetic, including generationally talented artists like Raphael Saadiq, Leon Bridges, Michael Kiwanuka, and Amy Winehouse (R.I.P.).
The Daktaris have continued to thrive, albeit in a different configuration. Members of the group formed the skeleton for the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, which started coming together around the time Soul Explosion was released. Antibalas is one of the most acclaimed of the recent Afrobeat collectives, releasing a slew of extremely dope projects, including a few through Daptone Records.
Antibalas went on to become the house band that backed Fela!, an acclaimed musical chronicling the life of their hero, Kuti. The Daktaris family tree runs pretty deep, as members are now integral parts of other modern soul/funk outfits, such as the aforementioned Dap-Kings and The Budos Band. The horn section even played on Mark Ronson’s Uptown Special (2015), including the ubiquitous mega-hit “Uptown Funk” with Bruno Mars.
It's fascinating that an album as arcane as Soul Explosion was an integral part of the vintage soul/funk revival. It’s even more fascinating that the “hustle” feels as authentic as the music that it was inspired by. But The Daktaris did everything right and executed on a level that would have made their idols proud.
Listen: