Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Who Is William Onyeabor?
Tomorrow night, David Byrne of Talking Heads and a group of musicians will get together at the Greek Theater to play the music of William Onyeabor. Who is William Onyeabor, you ask? He’s one of the most mysterious figures in music. He was a businessman who created his own style of afro-synth funk in Nigeria in the 70’s and 80’s.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readTomorrow night, David Byrne of Talking Heads and a group of musicians will get together at the Greek Theater to play the music of William Onyeabor. Who is William Onyeabor, you ask? He’s one of the most mysterious figures in music. He was a businessman who created his own style of afro-synth funk in Nigeria in the 70’s and 80’s. He put out eight albums on his own label and recorded them in his own studio. He lives in a home he calls his “palace.” In this segment, we talk to someone who knows as much about Onyeabor as anyone.
