Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Prince Adé-Oyé: Juju Music Made in R. Benin, 1995


The composition and execution of this album totally blow my mind. As far as I can tell, this is the only album recorded by Prince Adé-Oyé. Too many guitars to count, talking drums that reproduce vocal melodies and seem to take the only solos that weren't prewritten. It was recorded in Benin by producer Nel Oliver, the first Black African to own a recording studio in Europe. The production quality is so clean that when I first heard it I thought the cowbell and shaker were played on a drum machine. You can hear how meticulous Oliver was about every sound on this disc, and the result is unlike any album I've heard. The musicians are:
Prince Adé-Oyé: Lyrics, composition, solo guitar
Zannou Guy: Solo guitar
Kounasso Laurent Lolo: Hawaiian guitar
Adanvo Pierre: Rhythm guitar
Assogba Fredy: Tenor guitar
Rock Dedegbé & Kounaso Rene Zom'bo: Bass guitar
Daouda Abdouyale & Ajinakou Pascal Gobi: Talking drums
Assogba Bonito: Keyboard
H. Gervais, A Mechac, & A. Chedrac: Agogo-glocke
Prince Adé-Oyé, Kounasso Laurent Lolo, Assogba Bonito, Jean da Silva, & Jean-Claude Kakpo: Chorus

Adé-Oyé Ni Mon DJè (Instrumental) by Easyjams

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