1980 William Onyeabor “Body & Soul” on Wilifilms Records.

I mean, let’s just be honest here, Onyeabor is some sort of mad warlock. Composes, writes, arranges, and plays all instruments himself, mostly a mad stack of synths, and in a way all his songs sound exactly alike, and yet they’re all different, all mesmerizing, all beautifully idiosyncratic and odd and funky and deep and shallow and propulsive and unmoving. Sui Generis is a Latin term that means so original it really is without any comparison, but in a way I’d say his closest analog is Tim Maia, not in how they sound, but the purity of expression with which, through just sheer force of personality, they deliver. It’s possible this is my favorite Onyeabor record, although if you asked tomorrow I might say something different, but although this record doesn’t have a flat-out hit/bomb track on it, it holds together as a 4-song unified statement more than his other work. May I seize this opportunity to say that this is truly essential music? I mean, it’s possible that there are people who don’t like William Onyeabor on the face of this earth, but they are undoubtedly the sort who also complain about fresh fruit, fast cars, and what a hassle it is constantly having to breathe. Top Action!