Horizon Unlimited

Released

As the Lijadu sisters, identical twins Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu took the Nigerian music scene by storm with their powerful blend of West African styles like Afrobeat, highlife, and fuji music with funk, reggae, psychedelia, and South African pop. In the early 1970s they caught the attention of Cream drummer Ginger Baker, and joined his panafrican band Salt on several international tours. Just like their cousin Fela Kuti, politics were central to the Lijadu Sisters’ music. “We can’t just try and make money through music; we need to correct our own society,” the twins told The Guardian in 2014. You can hear that fierceness on Horizon UnlimitedOrere - Eleligbo” with its call to “get out! Fight! Trouble in the streets.” Their 1979 album would be their last, but it’s also their most emblematic, bringing together the different sounds that influenced them over the years, from the funky Afrobeat of “Orere - Eleligbo” to the psych-infused “Gbalo-Algobalo” and the shimmery soul of “Come On Home.”

Megan Iacobini de Fazio

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