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Seun Anikulapo Kuti (Seun Kuti & Egypt 80) from Elevate Your Mind: Seun Anikulapo Kuti’s Favourite Albums
Synchro System
King Sunny Ade had been a star in Nigeria since the early ’70s when Island Records tried to make him a star in the US and Europe. His 1982 breakout album, Juju Music, added New Wave synths to his blend of traditional Yoruba rhythms and slippery guitars (electric and lap steel); this album, released the following year, was similar but even lighter and more beautiful. Its second side was organized into a long medley, the better to conjure the feel of his marathon live shows, which could last eight hours at home and feel like one long song. But the discrete tunes on the first side — “Synchro Feelings – Ilako,” “Maajo,” “Penkele,” and the gorgeous “Mo Ti Mo” — give the feeling of lying in a hammock, sipping a sweet fruit drink as a cooling breeze blows across your skin. This is some of the most paradisical summertime music ever recorded; it makes you walk slower and smile wider.
Recommended by
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Seun Anikulapo Kuti (Seun Kuti & Egypt 80) from Elevate Your Mind: Seun Anikulapo Kuti’s Favourite Albums