Syncro System
Encyclopedia
Syncro System is a 1983 album by Nigeria
n jùjú band
King Sunny Adé And His African Beats
. The album peaked at #91 on Billboard's
"Pop Albums
" chart. It was the second of King Sunny Adé
's three releases for Island Records
, following on the heels of 1982's Juju Music
, but was not as critically well-received as the first. The album was re-released in 1990 under the variant spelling Synchro System.
, the predecessor credited by The New York Times
with launching the "World Beat movement in the United States". In its review, Rolling Stone
noted that while this album held many of the same features as the former, it "does not quite match the excitement or subtlety" and did demonstrate limitations within the emerging genre. In spite of that and what Rolling Stone termed a "regrettable" reduction of the steel guitar
of Demola Adepoju, the critic noted that "there are few bands that can play with this kind of emotion and sensitivity, and that alone makes Synchro System a worthwhile, though not indispensable, sampling of some of the world's most captivating music". The review at Allmusic suggests "[t]here are no big surprises here, but it's a good album nonetheless".
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n jùjú band
Jùjú music
Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name comes from a Yoruba word "juju" or "jiju" meaning "throwing" or "something being thrown." Juju music did not derive its name from juju, which "is a form of magic and the use of magic objects or...
King Sunny Adé And His African Beats
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...
. The album peaked at #91 on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
"Pop Albums
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
" chart. It was the second of King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...
's three releases for Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, following on the heels of 1982's Juju Music
Juju Music
Juju Music is the 1982 major label debut of Nigerian jùjú band King Sunny Adé and His African Beats. It represented the first worldwide release for Adé, who was already established in his native Nigeria as its "biggest musical draw and juju music's reigning monarch". The album was a critical and...
, but was not as critically well-received as the first. The album was re-released in 1990 under the variant spelling Synchro System.
Critical reception
Though it charted higher, Syncro System was not as critically well-received as Juju MusicJuju Music
Juju Music is the 1982 major label debut of Nigerian jùjú band King Sunny Adé and His African Beats. It represented the first worldwide release for Adé, who was already established in his native Nigeria as its "biggest musical draw and juju music's reigning monarch". The album was a critical and...
, the predecessor credited by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
with launching the "World Beat movement in the United States". In its review, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
noted that while this album held many of the same features as the former, it "does not quite match the excitement or subtlety" and did demonstrate limitations within the emerging genre. In spite of that and what Rolling Stone termed a "regrettable" reduction of the steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
of Demola Adepoju, the critic noted that "there are few bands that can play with this kind of emotion and sensitivity, and that alone makes Synchro System a worthwhile, though not indispensable, sampling of some of the world's most captivating music". The review at Allmusic suggests "[t]here are no big surprises here, but it's a good album nonetheless".
Track listing
All tracks composed by King Sunny Adé.- "Synchro Feelings - Ilako" – 5:36
- "Mo Ti Mo" – 5:31
- "Penkele" – 4:00
- "Maajo" – 4:10
- "Synchro System" – 6:27
- "E Saiye Re" – 3:29
- "Tolongo" – 3:19
- "E Wele" – 5:03
- "Synchro (Reprise)" – 1:27
Performance
- Fatoke Abiodun – percussion, agogôAgogôAn agogô is a single or multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba music and also in the samba baterias . The agogô may be the oldest samba instrument and was based on West African Yoruba single or double bells...
- Shina Abiodun – congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
- King Sunny AdeKing Sunny AdéKing Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboards, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Ademola Adepoju – steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
- Jacob Ajakaye – vocals
- Moses Akanbi – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- John Akpan – guitar, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Rasaki Aladokun – African drumDjembeA djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
, talking drum - Gani Alashe – percussion, shekereShekereThis article is about the musical instrument. for the musical genre, see Sekere.The shekere is an instrument from West Africa consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. Throughout the continent there are similar gourd/bead or gourd/seed percussion instruments. Some...
- Michael Babalola – maracasMaracásMaracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
- Elder Osei Bonsu – guitar, percussion, motimo
- Jonah Bonsu – keyboards
- Tunde Demiola – vocals
- Niyi Falaye – vocals
- Segun Hori – guitar
- Jelili Lawal – bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Martin MeissonnierMartin MeissonnierMartin Meissonnier is a French journalist, producer, director and composer. Formerly a journalist for Libération, he has made a specialty of discovering new types of music...
– keyboards - Bob Ohiri – guitar
- Alhaji Timmy Olaitan – drums, African drum, talking drum
- Matthew Olojede – vocals
- Femi Owomoyela – vocals
Production
- Lynn GoldsmithLynn GoldsmithLynn Goldsmith is an American recording artist, a film director and a celebrity portrait photographer. Her work has appeared on the covers and in publications in many countries for the past 35 years. She has done over 100 album covers...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, cover photo - Godwin Logie – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Martin MeissonnierMartin MeissonnierMartin Meissonnier is a French journalist, producer, director and composer. Formerly a journalist for Libération, he has made a specialty of discovering new types of music...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, coordination - Stephen StreetStephen StreetStephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
– assistant engineer, mixing