Caught in the Net: Clap your hands say onyeabor

Hot Chip are among the artists remixing cult Nigerian electrofunkrocker William Onyeabor for the WHAT?! compilation David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label is releasing on Record Store Day.

He’s a bit of a Rodriguez-style character who hasn’t been seen in public for over 20 years and is the subject of the excellent Fantastic Man documentary that includes Damon Albarn, Femi Kuti and Caribou among its cast of admirers.

Mr. O is/was – unlike Sugarman, the makers failed to find their quarry – the sharpest of dressers with a penchant for pinstripe suits and pimped up J.R. Ewingstyle ten gallon hats. Add in a magnificent pair of sideburns, and you have yourself a serious dude. Watch the doc and bag yourself some swag from williamonyeabor.com.

There’s also considerable mystery concerning Bronislaw Huberman, the so-called “Oskar Schindler of the music world” who has as much of what’s known of his story told in Orchestra Of Exiles.

“In the early 1930s Hitler began forcing Jewish musicians out of orchestras across central Europe; never before had so many experienced players been jobless simultaneously,” reads the blurb. “The Nazis unwittingly presented a unique opportunity and with the short window of time still available, Huberman dedicated himself to fulfilling a dream.

“The struggle to create the Palestine Symphony is a densely layered story with a range of key characters that could hardly be more diverse. Among them: a high Nazi official, Goebbels; a future head of state, Chaim Weizmann; and the families of victimised Jewish musicians who made up the ranks of orchestras across central Europe. Even the most famous Jew in the world played a role; a man who, among other pursuits, was an amateur violinist who liked to read music with Huberman – Albert Einstein.” Get the full lowdown at aronsonfilms.com/Huberman.html

Which just leaves time for quick visits to sainthoax.com/wdyo.html (Hitler and other prominent world leaders get the drag queen makeover treatment); moviepilot.com (the best film site we’ve come across in an aeon) and www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRVLHMc5APo (Elvis, Kurt and 2Pac star in Bavaria beer commercial – sort of! - see below)