 
|
KING SUNNY ADE
Synchro Series (Indigedisc)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
King Sunny Ade's band had it going on in their home country of Nigeria in 1982, but in America nobody had even heard of them. They played JuJu music, and wonderful as it was, no U.S. record label was particularly interested in taking a chance on albums full of exotic music that were, more often than not, one long song per side. That's the way they loved 'em in Lagos, though, and now you get a chance to find out why. Indigedisc, a label determined to bring important and outstanding music to our attention regardless of commercial potential, gives us Synchro Series, a melding of two King Sunny Ade releases.
The first, Gbe Kini Ohun De, was released in Nigeria in 1982 just before Island Records, who were looking for someone to fill the void left by the death of Bob Marley, finally introduced Ade to the west. The tracks from Gbe Kini Ohun De are 18:25, 10:39 and 8:18 in length. Extended meditations and celebrations on some of the most joyous beats you've ever heard, with relaxed, fluid guitar work from Ade. After this recording, the band hit the road for Island Records, recorded the Ju Ju Music album, then came home and made Synchro Series, a much different record both in regard to track lengths and mood. It's still beautiful, but in a completely different way. Happy, dancey percussion is replaced by groovy, moody, evocative percussion. Uptempo guitar solos by Ade give way to darkly textured, atmospheric solos, nearly as complex as those on Gbe Kini Ohun De but more powerful. Bassist Jelili Lawal, just a part of the orchestra before, becomes the great mesmerizer on Synchro Series. Ademola Adepoju's steel guitar haunts rather than skates.
All very effective, if not necessarily a permanent change. They'd find a happy medium over the years to come, bringing a lot of the more celebratory elements back into the music while perfecting the four minute JuJu tune technique. This is a great opportunity to hear the band during a turning point. Note that this is not the Island album called Synchro System. Some of the songs are the same, though I'm fairly certain they re-recorded them for Island that same year. This is pure Nigerian JuJu in all its glory.
© 2004 - DJ Johnson