catching some heat with king sunny ade

the mornings are starting at or below the freezing point now so i am feeling the need for a little warmth. about twenty years ago, paul simon of simon and garfunkel fame took a trip into south africa and emerged a changed man. loaded with street music and musicians who were huge stars in their countries but almost completely unknown on this continent, simon assembled an album entitled ”graceland” that brought much of what was happening in areas of south africa such as soweto into his musical vocabulary. he was not the first, to be fair to all the other musicians who had done something similar, he was not alone. but his name and fame allowed the music into the homes of people who might otherwise never have experienced it

as a result of listening to simon’s music i went digging into the music of groups like ladysmith black mambazo, the boyoyo boys, and eventually king sunny ade. king sunny plays a form of music popularized in nigerian called juju music. it is a very detailed and precise kind of music and yet is also very laid back and easy to listen to. its most characteristic feature is the talking drum. here’s a talking drum . . .

for my friends in northern climes who are starting to feel the first chill, here’s some music from and about a place much warmer than where i am right now. the song is entitled “ja funmi”.



here’s a nice feature on king sunny.