''Afreaka!'' was the first album released by the English rock band

Demon Fuzz Demon Fuzz was an English rock band which was formed in 1968 and broke up in 1972. Its members had all immigrated to Britain from Commonwealth countries. The band's name means "devil's children or bad policemen". The band's music has generally b ...

. It was initially issued in 1970 by

Dawn Records Dawn Records was a subsidiary of Pye Records. Active from 1969 to 1975, it was established as Pye's 'underground and progressive' label rivalling the EMI and Phonogram equivalents, Harvest and Vertigo. The most successful act on the label wa ...

, to which the group was signed. The following year, a U.S. pressing was made by

Janus Records Janus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. The label was in operation from 1969 to 1979. History Janus was founded in July 1969 as a joint venture of GRT and British label Pye Records. In its ea ...

(catalog number JLS 3028). It was a ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' "4-STAR" selection in June 1971. In the 21st century, another pressing on vinyl was made by Janus under the same catalog number as the 1971 edition. Three CD reissues were produced, all of which include as bonus tracks 'Message To Mankind', 'Fuzz Oriental Blues' and the band's cover of

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

' '

I Put A Spell On You "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and composed by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose own recording of it was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Rober ...

', all from the group's 1970

maxi-single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

. In Japan, a two-CD (12-cm and 8-cm) set in a

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...

paper sleeve was made by Arcàngelo in 2004.

Castle Music Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

released a CD (catalog number CMRCD 1197) in 2005.

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who s ...

in the UK issued a CD in 2009 (catalog number ECLEC2111). The musical style has predominantly been described as

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, as well as

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, di ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

and

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

. The recording is sometimes sampled by latter-day DJs.

Track listing

Credits

*Sleepy Jack Joseph - bass *Ayinde Folarin - congas *Paddy Corea - congas, flute, sax, arrangements *Steven John - drums *W. Raphael Joseph - guitar *Ray Rhoden - piano, organ *Barry Murray - production *Clarance Brooms Crosdale - trombone *Smokey Adams - vocals

References

{{Authority control Dawn Records albums 1970 debut albums Progressive rock albums by English artists Soul albums by English artists Funk albums by English artists Acid rock albums Jazz fusion albums by English artists