Awon Ojise Olorun [coll] – [Savannahphone]

ArtCrimes   6/19/2007   CD, International

[coll] Awon Ojise Olorun International

The Yoruba tribe of Africa has resided in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togo for over a thousand years. Their percussion and group call-and-response singing style are the bedrock for more contemporary African styles like Juju, Apala, and eventually Fela???s Afrobeat. The examples here, spanning the period 1931-1952, are largely percussion-driven, although acoustic guitars show up here and there, and an Islamically-influenced style called ???sakara??? adds a one-stringed fiddle to the palette. The song topics run the range from religious invocations, to wildlife stories, to the merchandising of Kola nuts. English translations are provided for all tracks.