Album: Juju Music
Artist: King Sunny Adé
Born: Ondo, Nigeria
Released: July 1982
Genre: Afropop
Influenced: Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Paul Simon, TV On The Radio, Vampire Weekend
Afropop is a vague term, not quite as vague or annoying as world music, but it lacks the clarity of Afrobeat (polyrhythmic funk pioneered by Fela Kuti) or other genre tags. It's still useful though as a catch-all for the various styles of African music that became more and more popular during the 80s in Europe and North America. After reggae, Island Records (home to Bob Marley) decided to introduce King Sunny Adé to a western audience and, though he'd already built a strong reputation in his home country of Nigeria, Juju Music was his major label debut. Juju in this case refers to a specific type of African music from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria and has nothing to do with voodoo or shamanistic magic, as referenced on the Siouxsie & the Banshees album. King Sunny Adé and his band mixed this traditional form, characterised by talking drums and chanting, with modern studio effects like dub echo and instruments like pedal steel guitar. Ja Funmi ("Fight For Me") is the album's lead-off track and a definite standout, the singing and sound is really chilled but the rhythm is good enough to dance to. There were tons of good albums in the 80s that were inspired by Afropop, from David Byrne & Brian Eno's My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts to Paul Simon's Graceland, but there's something much more rewarding about going to the source.
Juju Music is one of my favourite albums to work to, as it has a calming, blissful quality and also because I can't often understand the lyrics, so I'm better able to switch off. Most classical music has the same effect, whereas with a lot of pop music I want to actively listen. 365 Is My Number is one of the few tracks on Juju Music with English lyrics, whereas most are sung in Yoruba and based on proverbs. I really like the use of synths and dub effects on the album, especially instrumental The Message (which dovetails with 365 Is My Number), but I guess it may have upset the purists.
While on the subject, though I'm far from an expert, below is my Top 10 list of Afropop songs (sadly, there are very few Afropop albums I listen to regularly):
- Nansi Imali, Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- Pasi Pano Pane Zviedzo, The Four Brothers
- Gentleman, Fela Kuti
- Chisi, Thomas Mapfumo
- Daande Lenol, Baaba Maal
- Mihetsika, Tarika
- Kaokokokorobo, Papa Wemba
- Ya Sah, Nass El Ghiwane
- Assouf, Tinariwen
- Sabali, Amadou & Mariam
Afropop is a vague term, not quite as vague or annoying as world music, but it lacks the clarity of Afrobeat (polyrhythmic funk pioneered by Fela Kuti) or other genre tags. It's still useful though as a catch-all for the various styles of African music that became more and more popular during the 80s in Europe and North America. After reggae, Island Records (home to Bob Marley) decided to introduce King Sunny Adé to a western audience and, though he'd already built a strong reputation in his home country of Nigeria, Juju Music was his major label debut. Juju in this case refers to a specific type of African music from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria and has nothing to do with voodoo or shamanistic magic, as referenced on the Siouxsie & the Banshees album. King Sunny Adé and his band mixed this traditional form, characterised by talking drums and chanting, with modern studio effects like dub echo and instruments like pedal steel guitar. Ja Funmi ("Fight For Me") is the album's lead-off track and a definite standout, the singing and sound is really chilled but the rhythm is good enough to dance to. There were tons of good albums in the 80s that were inspired by Afropop, from David Byrne & Brian Eno's My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts to Paul Simon's Graceland, but there's something much more rewarding about going to the source.
Juju Music is one of my favourite albums to work to, as it has a calming, blissful quality and also because I can't often understand the lyrics, so I'm better able to switch off. Most classical music has the same effect, whereas with a lot of pop music I want to actively listen. 365 Is My Number is one of the few tracks on Juju Music with English lyrics, whereas most are sung in Yoruba and based on proverbs. I really like the use of synths and dub effects on the album, especially instrumental The Message (which dovetails with 365 Is My Number), but I guess it may have upset the purists.
While on the subject, though I'm far from an expert, below is my Top 10 list of Afropop songs (sadly, there are very few Afropop albums I listen to regularly):
- Nansi Imali, Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- Pasi Pano Pane Zviedzo, The Four Brothers
- Gentleman, Fela Kuti
- Chisi, Thomas Mapfumo
- Daande Lenol, Baaba Maal
- Mihetsika, Tarika
- Kaokokokorobo, Papa Wemba
- Ya Sah, Nass El Ghiwane
- Assouf, Tinariwen
- Sabali, Amadou & Mariam
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