King Sunny Ade and his Afrobeat orchestra on tour (and on disc)

http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.press_release/project_id/202.cfm

I think the Atlanta show was on the 18th.

Oh yeah Hurt, I know he's juju and not afrobeat.

I've often spent the big bucks to see African acts over the years. It hurts the old wallet a bit, but the shows are so worth it. I saw Bemeya Jazz do a great late-night performance before a tiny handful of people at a poorly advertised and pricey show in DC last year.

King Sunny and his 13 or 14 piece band had a lot going on. Fantastic percussion(curved sticks hitting against handheld drums; congas; trap drum set); pedal steel player; King Sunny and another guitarist mixing in a tiny amount of Hendrix and rootsy bluesy touches(not cliched budweiser blooz) into their juju rhythms; keyboardist adding flourishes; plus
King Sunny and two singers offered almost South-African like harmonies and engaged in precise call and response exchanges. Not to mention their dancing. At about the hour and half point, Nigerians and others(a goofy white guy in leather pants) ascended the stage to dispense money to King Sunny and the band. Others just climbed onto the stage to dance. Ade, wasn't using his guitar during this segment, just singing praise-song like material with some accompaniment from the band. At some point the Theatre ushers got unhappy, and King Sunny had to ask folks to get off of the stage. He said something like "We're trying to do this like a Nigerian concert but they're not used to that, so for now we're going back to the American style." He strapped his guitar back on and the band did several more songs before some more Nigerians came onstage. One was a son of King Sunny, who he had sent off to America to go to college and live with his uncle. Then a guy with a little kid in a suit who was dancing up a storm at 2:30 a.m. Oh yeah, King Sunny brought out three women dancers for a few numbers who undulated their bellies and bottoms (everything actually).... Only a few people grumbled that the show didn't go to 3 a.m. as promised, and others left early--looking tired but happy.

By Femi Ajayi:

"What was so beguiling about the show was a young lady who thought she could twists, shakes, or coils whatever God gives her, better than King Sunny Ade. At a point the young lady melted to the crowd and gave up 'competing' with Sunny Ade on the stage. At that point Sunny came up with one of his favorites, "Baby yi, o le pa mi layo, bo si gbangba ka joooooooooo!" Meaning that the lady should get back if she thinks she can competes with him in his moves. Sunny proved her and anyone else at that gathering that he is still on top of his show.

Another tantalizing part of the show was the three lady-dancers, especially one of them that have the body that a typical African man is crazy about, including Sunny Ade, who whispered to one of his band, 'onisekuse'. Nigerian men, especially the Yoruba speaking part of Nigeria, love to see a lady blessed with what Sunny Ade refers to as, 'Shiki shiki', 'Osuru Oke', and 'Ikebe' to match. Regardless the size of her body, she moved her body as if there is no bone in it. Like my wife always say in Yoruba, 'alara ki ito bi kio malegbe'. That is, the body is never too heavy for the individual not to carry it around. As this lady continued to move her body, "God have mercy", was what someone remarked from the audience. She is a star. "

Monday, March 28, 2005; Page C04

King Sunny Ade

The advance publicity for Nigerian singer-guitarist King Sunny Ade's current U.S. tour promised two innovations: the unprecedented pairing of the Yoruba musician with an Igbo one, Prince Obi Osadebe, and Ade's first stateside foray into "praise singing," in which a vocalist exalts a notable spectator who in exchange "sprays" the performer with money. Neither novelty was the highlight of Ade's frequently exhilarating concert Friday night (and Saturday morning) at the Lincoln Theatre.

Ade and his 14-piece band began to perform a little before midnight and continued for nearly three hours. At any given moment, as many as eight of the musicians played percussion, providing an intricate pulse that never flagged. Atop these polyrhythms, Ade arrayed his sweet tenor and jaunty, high-pitched guitar, which were supplemented by call-and-response chants and -- unusual in African music -- a steel guitar. Twice during the show, the band was joined by three women dancers who snaked their hips to sultry Ade riffs.

About an hour of the concert was devoted to praise singing and spraying, which nearly becalmed the music. Thronged by admirers, Ade was nearly invisible to most of the audience, and half the band simply stood around as he sang.

Fortunately, the percussionists kept going, chattering briskly on congas, talking drum and other instruments until Ade strapped on his guitar again.

He then played for another half-hour, but didn't quite recapture the momentum of the earlier set. More praise singing led finally to a statement of support for democracy in Nigeria and a quick departure. Ade didn't exactly end on a high note, but there were plenty of those before the show gradually unraveled.

Osadebe, , who performed for about an hour, was backed by a five-piece band that couldn't rival the headliner's instrumental complexity.

Despite a vivid red-and-green robe and a frequently employed shimmy, he was at a disadvantage in stage presence.

-- Mark Jenkins

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

Copyright 2005 AllAfrica, Inc.
Africa News

March 22, 2005 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Nigeria;
Laurels Made in Nigeria

It was almost three hours of cheers, hugging, backslapping, thrills and frills at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Entertainment Award on Sunday, March 6. The venue -- Ikeja-based Sheraton Hotel and Towers -- was capacity-filled. The hall was abuzz with the chatter of the entertainment crowd.

For an event on its maiden edition, the awards ceremony was however ambitious. The five categories of Media, Movies, Music, Comedy and Special Recognition Award were replete with a lengthy list of awards.

In the Music category, the award winners were African Queen (Song of the Year), Kennis Music (Best Record Label of the Year), Oruka by Sonny Nneji (Best Music Video), Ruggedman (Best Rap Artiste), Lagbaja (Most Innovative male artiste), Ara (most innovative female artistes) Jimmy Jatt (DJ of the year) Keke & D1 (Most Entertaining Music presenters.

The organisers gave out special recognition awards to icons such as Ali Baba, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Wale Adenuga, Ben Murray Bruce, King Sunny Ade, Charley Boy, K-I Ultimate, and Joke Jacobs.

-KSA was indeed the steppes of Russia, the pants on the Roxy usher, etc. He and his 657 band members (about 735 of whom are percussionists of one sort of another) took the stage around quarter-to-twelve and probably left many hours after I was home in bed, put to shame by nattily robed Nigerians nearly twice my age. And younger, to be fair—the crowd was pretty broadly dispersed as far as age. There were a smattering of white folks there too—hippies doing that damn hoppety-hop of theirs, some fairly limber student-types, and some appreciatively sedentary arts professionals. (Not that, erm, I noticed any of this stuff—that’d be doing King Sunny a disservice, nah?)

Prince Ibo was less exciting—fairly standard issue professional Afropop, a jaded observer might remark. Then again, who gets to see enough West African bands a year to be jaded? (Aside from, you know, West Africans.) But just as impressive as the main attraction was the Legendary Blue Horizon, which has a vaulted ceiling that is indeed very blue—sky-blue, to be exact. It’s used for boxing matches these days, and from what I could gather (though I couldn’t gather much, online or from anyone in attendance) it was a hopping live music venue back when North Philly was the sort of area that supported hopping live music venues. I hope they hold more shows like this in the future.

I wonder if Matt C. caught one of the Wisconsin shows?

Sasha Frere-Jones has the King Sunny Synchro Series compilation thing on his top 10 list now.

I loved the guitar, as usual, and Ade's dancing. There was no way I could miss this.

April 23, 2005 Saturday

POP BEAT;
It's OK to toss cash at royalty;
King Sunny Ade doesn't mind if you shower him with greenbacks. In fact, he'll play until 4 a.m. to show his gratitude.

by Richard Cromelin, Times Staff Writer

DATELINE: SOLANA BEACH, Calif.

The musicians in King Sunny Ade's band have many talents. They can play his polyrhythmic pieces for hours with unflagging spirit and precision. They look sharp in their patterned Nigerian garments. They're able to dance when called upon and are always ready with an infectious smile.

And on Wednesday they showed their skill at scooping up the money that fluttered to the floor of the stage during the group's concert at the Belly Up Tavern here. This abundant currency was presented to singer-guitarist Ade by audience members who approached him as he played and, with great ceremony, either showered the greenbacks over him like confetti or stuck them to his perspiring forehead.

This custom, known as "spraying" or "dashing," is rarely enacted outside of its African setting, but Ade, one of the biggest international stars in African music for more than two decades, is including it as an added attraction on his first U.S. tour in several years. The opening act is an exponent of eastern Nigeria's highlife music, Prince Obi Osadebe.

"A lot of people really wanted to see how we normally do it in Nigeria, in our parties and Nigerian concerts," Ade, 58, said backstage before Wednesday's show. "Many people said they saw it on TV or a video ... so my management said I should include it .... We started doing it and everybody really enjoys it. It has been going very well."

The tour will stop tonight at the Vanguard in Hollywood, where Ade will introduce locals to another regular feature of his performances back home: He'll play until 4 in the morning.

The spraying and the "praise singing" -- in which the performer reciprocates by singing flattering words about his benefactors -- are part of the musical/social fabric in Nigeria. At parties held for naming ceremonies, weddings, business openings and other occasions, people's prominence is often measured by the exchange.

"It's a sign of respect, and it's also a means of getting the singer to sing your praise," says CC Smith, editor of the Los Angeles-based world music magazine the Beat. "It actually is a demonstration of status -- showing off your wealth makes you the big man or top dog in the society. The more you can give away, the richer you are considered. And then, of course, the singer starts singing your praises for all to hear.

"I've been to shows where they've done nothing but. People were virtually lining up to throw money on the singer, and the whole song was talking about whoever was currently pasting the money on his head."

At the Belly Up, the spraying began about halfway through the nearly two-hour show, when a man in an African-design shirt danced up to Ade and began tucking bills into his collar and pressing them against his head. Three women soon joined him, and they remained on stage and danced after bestowing their cash.

Ade stood at the side of the stage and faced them as he began the praise singing. At Nigerian parties the singer knows a lot about the people he's addressing, but here it appeared more impromptu. At one point one of the women whispered to a backup singer, who in turn said something to Ade, presumably some information for him to incorporate in his lyrics.

Ade sings in the Yoruba language, so while the words themselves might have been foreign to the predominantly non-African audience, the intimacy and spontaneity of this moment were mesmerizing, all the more so because it was delivered with dazzling rhythmic complexity and precision.

That's been the hallmark of King Sunny Ade's juju music for decades, and his sound is as fresh and vibrant in 2005 as it was when he made his initial splash in the U.S.

At the Belly Up, the size of the stage limited his lineup to 14 players (with three vivacious female dancers occasionally squeezing in to shake their stuff), but with a phalanx of drums behind three electric guitars and keyboards, they mounted the same rippling, intricate, effervescent kind of grooves that first endeared him to Western audiences.

Ade was already a star in Nigeria when his fame began to spread in Europe in the early '80s. He signed with Island Records and was presented to the world as an emissary of a great Third World music, somewhat in the tradition of Bob Marley.

Ade wasn't political like Marley, but his influence has been profound on the international spread of African music and the growth of world music as a vital genre.

Though his prominence here faded after the initial wave, when he and his band headlined such venues as the Hollywood Palladium and the Greek Theatre, Ade has nothing but good memories about those times.

"I'd been longing to let the whole world hear my music, juju music, and it was like a door opener for me from Island Records," he said backstage Wednesday. "It was like a new thing to the Western world, and they gave me an opportunity to play it live....

"They opened the door not only for me but for other African musicians and all African music.... And the people here are still liking it."

love this dude

I think various old efforts of his are being reissued

Was there ever a proper Search and Destroy on King Sunny Ade?

If not, lets.

I've loved everything I've heard, but I don't know what any of it was as i lost it all in hard-drive crash. The Juju Music LP on Island just arrived in the post, as that seemed a good place to start.

Re Juju

Juju is a great one no matter what, I mean

Completely agree about the Island records. I love Juju Music the most, the dubby production is super sweet. Aura kind of shades into 80s Miles territory for me -- not a bad thing, but not as smooth as Juju Music or Synchro System. Glad to have the recommendations for the compilations -- I've never heard em.

ok, so I'll get Juju music, but if I wanna get one comp that covers the pre Island shit, which should I get?

Start with Best of the Classic Years; Gems From the Classic Years is a sequel that covers the same era.

If you find a used vinyl copy of Aura, buy it.

A lot of the non-Island albums from the very late 70s and early to mid 80s are fantastic and, while not too dissimilar from Juju Music in basic sound, in a lot of ways are more enveloping listens than the Island albums: The Golden Mercury of Africa, The Message, Check ‘E’, Iyinle Odu, Bobby, Ajoo, Explosion, Togetherness, Sweet Banana.
And that’s not even all of them.

I mean at some level they’re somewhat indistinguishable but that also means you can’t really go wrong. My favourite is Bobby for what it’s worth.

Agreed, Bobby is great. Also a big recommnedation for Searching For My Love.

Having never heard of King Sunny Ade and having no context or knowledge of these kind of sounds, hearing him appear on UK TV around 1982 or 83 (on The Tube) was a genuinely mind blowing musical experiences that left me totally gobsmacked and altered my musical taste forever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGmbyRaauog

Revisiting his discography, I find Aura to be his best album. It's not on spotify but the full thing is on youtube. If you haven't heard it please do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_5DDEqghhA

Stevie Wonder plays on the first track too!

It's on Spotify as a twofer with Synchro System: https://open.spotify.com/album/7lGreFI4eAftRKMnXKKjLD?si=kKmnMAhSS9mwpc0Iezy5xA

Aura is so good, in my slsk folder I split it from the Synchro System twofer - which although the latter is good enough, Aura is a standalone classic that shouldn't be twofered!

i agree aura > synchro system, tho it was received poorly at the time in the uk and sold poorly, hence island's quitting the project iirc

the uk constituency for "world pop" in the mid-80s (not that it was called this yet) was often shamingly authenticist and often actually quite patronising in its attitudes -- and i think KSA's filt-tilt exploration of the potential of the most up-to-date new-pop studio tech distressed this crowd w/o finding crossover support elsewhere. it's a pity bcz i think there was a fruitful tension between the collective rhythm-base of juju and the digital clocktime precision of how the studio tech tended to understand its cuts and edits -- i wish he'd been able to explore it more deeply

have been trying to fill out my KSA collection and ordered one of the earlier LPs on discogs. seller sent the wrong disc by accident. so i got this instead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt5aKIhzgfo&feature=emb_title

it's ... so fucking awesome.

sry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt5aKIhzgfo

uncle toye ajagun "vol. 3" 1976

a lot more low end on the LP than here btw

Don't know that name but like his juju in the video

Total newbie here. Picked up "Bobby" on a chance and it's really hitting the spot for a mellow yet uplifting listen. Feel like I could leave it on loop forever and not get tired of it. Where should I go next?

Perhaps try some of the other albums from around that era. I’m particularly partial to ‘Explosion’ (that and ‘Bobby’ are my go-to picks) but ‘Iyinle Odu’, ‘Ajoo’ and ‘Togetherness’ are also great albums from that time. The only issue is that it can be difficult to keep them separate in yr head.

Thanks Tim F - I'll seek out "Explosion" once "Bobby" runs its course (that could be a while yet!).

Fela documentary on BBC2 today:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pr2n

folks: vols. 9 & 10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7vZ5yzYboA&

meant to post here the other day and forgot. haven't read the thread (will do so eventually) but wanted to chime in with my preference for the "african beats" records, vols. 7 and 9 & 10 (released i think as a 2xLP). those and the green spot band "master guitarist" series 1-6 are my favorite KSA. reverb-drenched guitars, hypnotic unison vocal lines, and dense percussion grooves that link multiple tunes over a side-long track: that to me is the essential king sunny. i do like the stuff on island / mango, of course

these sides just seem to go on forever. and the chiming, cascading guitar lines ... just straight into my veins please, yes, don't care if the guitars are out of tune tbh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLDSHSjfTas

I feel like the sunny ade thread should have a “NO FELA” sign like the “no stairway” sign in Wayne’s World.

I for one I’m happy I was alerted to this doc this way - in which KSA was namechecked btw, so full circle

fwiw, I never heard the guitars as "out of tune," I just kinda assumed they were not in just temperament and probably tuned by ear closer to the way the instruments in the precursors of juju music were

I'll forever praise the wonderful bout of enthusiast record collectors' Blogspot-site vinyl rips in '08 or so - I discovered Adé's African-made records that way. I was not bowled over by 'Juju Music' but these side-long jams I totally got down with it. 'Bobby' is my go-to album too, closely followed by this one: https://groovemonzter.blogspot.com/2009/01/king-sunny-ade-private-line-side-one.html

One of these days I'm finally going to check out 'Aura'. I've heard good things about that one.

xp to man alive, i'm talking specifically about the guitars on vol. 7 and in a few other select spots. to my ears there's definitely something going on that isn't sitting right, but that's not something i hear in all of KSA by any means

otm re: blogspot era

I was at the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix (highly recommended) a couple years ago with my parents and it has a display of one of KSA's outfits and a blurb about him. My mom is a total square and not into music more than the average person so I was pretty surprised she knew who he was. I guess then he did have a brief moment in the international spotlight before my time.

another favorite that i first came across in the blogspot years:

Vol 4 Late General Ramat Muritala Mohammed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iON5zP-wnAY

great fuzz @ 22:47 !

whoa yeah! and the wah-wah before that likewise!

i'm here to ask ilxors if they would be interested in / post in a thread devoted to juju / yoruba music.

or whether there's already a suitable thread for the purpose of posting youtube rips of uncle toye ajagun, admiral dele abiodun, prince adekunle, choice KSA deep cuts, etc

Um yeah, I totally would

Chief Ebeneezer Obey, chief stephen osita osadebe etc.

One of the stupidest things among many stupid things I did in college was to take an Africa in WWII class, do badly in it, and then, for my final paper, try to write about juju roots and palmwine music in wwii, a subject for which there were almost no sources available whatsoever, even from ILL. I think I walked away with a D in that class. I was really not in my right mind at times.

Sorry about the grade, and you not thinking about how hard it would be, but I like the idea.

But yeah a juju thread would be ok

Did the juju/yoruba thread ever get off the ground? No results from my searches. I'd be very happy to get some 'if you like KSA you'll like this' recommendations.

no idea. the highlife/igbo (but not just that) thread has seen a significant revival in the past 24 hours however!

https://www.elderscornermovie.com/

I liked this Elders Corner film doc on old school Nigerian musicians (which I have touted on other threads)

It has juju and afrobeat and highlife

Thanks. Will dig in. How would you define Sunny Ade's sound (and Chief Ebeneezer...)?

Is it juju?

both juju, yes, though I find distinguishing between juju, highlife, and palm-wine fairly difficult, even more so once western/afrobeat influences start showing up. people with a better ear for rhythm & percussion patterns might be better at it than I am

Thanks. I feel the same - I don't really have the vocabulary, which is why I asked. I associate highlife with The Bhundu Boys. Back in the 80s I found much more to enjoy in the complex rhythms of Sunny Ade. I didn't know that palm-wine was a genre.

never started it, will think about doing that this week, or go ahead and make one yourself!

The Bhundu Boys ? That's an interesting confusion. The rhythms are very different. I guess it shows how unknown the Zimbabwean body of music remains.
Palm wine music is more traditional. Juju is more hypnotic and celebratory. Highlife is more funky and melancholic and has rumba-style guitar.

I mentioned the Bhundu Boys only because we were talking about different threads on ILM and how some juju had somehow made it onto the highlife thread. I then noticed there was some discussion above about having a devoted thread, which I've since started.