Monomono - The Dawn of Awareness
Link to full playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTyn...ETLpg8zVs7VS2Q
Genre: Afro-Funk/Rock
Year: 1974 (original release); 2011 (remaster)
Place of Origin: Lagos, Nigeria
General Pace: Smooth-groove low to moderate
The Dawn of Awareness is a cornucopia of funkadelic vibes that come together in a multi-layered and complex mixture of drums, smooth basslines, saxophone instrumentation and much much more. This album is a whole tier of sounds with positive and upbeat messages. On "Get Yourself together," Monomono essentially goes free jazz, and "Awareness Is Wot You Need" is the socially-conscious harbinger for helping not just yourself, but your fellow man when you see him down on his luck. You just have to sell your pride and take off your mask in order to see the path. The lyrics are mostly in English, but they break into their native language on "Tire Loma Da Nigbehin" and after the intro on "Ipade Aladun," which starts off with Joni Haastrup, the band's leader, explaining to the world that musicians aren't drunks or idol worshipers when on stage. Critics gonna critique, after all. Said critics just don't understand that musicians are happy people with lots of energy who "[generate] this happiness to you, so that you may be happy in your life."
Free and happy. That is what Monomono wants you to be. That is what they want everyone to be. And so we are.
Best Song: "Plain Fighting"