NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA
Haruna Ishola & His Apala Group – Star Records SRPS 32 (LP)
(1919-1983)
Haruna Ishola & His Apala Group – Star Records SRPS 32 (LP)
(1919-1983)
Yoruba singer Haruna Ishola, who originally trained as a goldsmith, formed his first group in 1947 and was the established King of Apala by the 1950s. This brilliant album – particularly Side B – features the dazzling interactions between iyalu talking drums, agogo bells, sekere rattles and a large agidigbo thumb piano behind Ishola’s poised, mellifluous voice and nimble backing vocals.
This well-recorded LP is a stellar example of a glorious Islamic-influenced Yoruba musical tradition, whose golden era was between 1930s-1970s.
Le chanteur yoruba Haruna Ishola, qui se destinait au métier d’orfèvre, a formé son premier groupe en 1947 et s’est imposé comme le roi du Apala à partir des années 1950. Ce brillant album – tout particulièrement la Face B – présente des interactions sublimes entre des tambours parlants iyalu, des cloches agogo, des hochets sekere, et un grand piano à pouce agidigbo qui portent à merveille la voix fluide et majestueuse d’Haruna Ishola ponctuée de choeurs suaves.
Ce magnifique album bien enregistré témoigne d’une glorieuse tradition musicale yoruba d’influence islamique qui a connu son âge d'or entre les années 1930 et 1970.
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Our other Yoruba Apala posts:
Haruna Ishola – RPS 16 (Cassette) here
Ayinla Omowura – 25 x 40 – Africa Song Ltd (LP) here
Moufa Laif – Yoruba Apala Music from Porto Novo (Benin) (Cassette) here
Moufa Laif – Yoruba Apala Music from Porto Novo (Benin) (Cassette) here
Don’t miss the Apala Messenger – IndigeDisc – ID495002 Haruna Ishola anthology produced by Andrew Frankel with an impeccable selection of remastered tracks. Essential.
The photograph below is from African Music A People's Art by Francis Bebey, Laurence Hill Books, 1975 (highly recommended):
