Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 Band bags new deal with Roland

Leading global manufacturer of electronic musical instruments and professional audio and video gears, Roland Corporation, has signed a partnership deal with Seun Anikulapo Kuti and Egypt 80 Band.

The Egypt 80 Band, a global touring music band operating out of Lagos –Nigeria, is the legacy band founded by Fela Anikulapo Kuti in the 60s and so renamed in the late 70s after operating as Koola Lobitos and Afrika 70 respectively.

As part of this deal, Roland and Egypt 80 band will be partnering to deliver a unique experience leveraging the production and music-making instrument expertise, world-class equipment and more of the brand in 2022 and beyond.

According to Jamie Franklin, Artist Relations Manager at Roland, “Our brand is proud to start a relationship with Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80 band. It was inevitable that Seun would become a musical legend like his father, Fela, and his brother Femi. Coming from a pioneering family of Afrobeat, which took the African sound to new heights, Seun is a polymath in both music and life.

Watch this space for performances featuring the latest Roland and BOSS products, starting with Glastonbury festival in June.”

Speaking through his Business and Communications Manager, Ayo Moses Ogedengbe, Seun Anikulapo Kuti said, “details of the agreement between Roland and his band will remain confidential in line with contract terms, even though it is a welcome development as the band returns to touring again following its two-year COVID-19 induced break.”

Seun Kuti had shown an interest in his father Fela Kuti’s music from the age of five, and at nine began opening Fela’s shows, singing a select group of songs with Egypt 80 before his dad took the stage. 

After Fela passed on in 1997, Seun, in fulfilment of his father’s wishes, assumed the mantle as head of Egypt 80 at 14, and consequently its CEO.

The band will be embarking on its First Europe Tour since covid-19 on May 31st, 2022 and commence its United States tour on July 1st, 2022.