Jaiyede Afro, the new album from Nigerian Afro-soul legend Orlando Julius and U.K. groove outfit the Heliocentrics, out now on Strut Records, has an intentionally retro sound. From simple, hard-hitting arrangements and musical performances that channel the loose, flowing grooves of OJ's Afro Sounders, to a rough-around-the-edges analog production style familiar to enthusiasts of old-school African recordings, to the cover artwork--this is a work of loving nostalgia for a funkier time. The album highlights the Afrobeat and Afro-funk styles that OJ developed in the 1970s, leaving out the sunny highlife of OJ's youth and the Afro-disco of the '80s (Don't know who Orlando Julius is? Haven't checked out his music? Then our RESPECT post covering his career is for YOU!). For example, compare OJ's '73 version of "Buje Buje," recorded with his second band, the Afro Sounders at Ginger Baker's ARC studios in Lagos:
