Nigeria: Orlando Julius, the Final of Highlife Titans Goes Home

One among the heroes of Nigerian tune, a grasp of the straightforward, stomping riff with a important affect on Afrobeat tune, the final of Nigeria’s titans in the highlife tune genre, Orlando Julius simply slept into eternity. Or how very most realistic can it be described? The passing of the legendary musician and saxophonist used to be announced in the early hours of the day earlier than on the present time by his better half, Latoya Ekemode.

In line with her, the prodigious Orlando Julius handed on in his sleep on Thursday evening. “Sure, my husband handed on late final evening, there used to be no indication that death used to be coming, he used to be not in terrible health, he only slept and died in his sleep.” A bandleader, singer, and songwriter closely associated with Afrobeat tune, barely renowned his 60 years on stage final Twelve months.

The details of his unexpected demise hit the Nigerian tune commercial of us as he handed away barely about a hours into his 79th birthday. The outmoded highlife musician, in accordance alongside with his profile, used to be born on September 22, 1943 in Ikole-Ekiti, South West Nigeria; he grew up between Ekiti and Ilesha in Osun deliver where his father is from. Orland Julius took off to Ibadan at age 14 on his private.

His first musical trainer used to be his mother, who would inform and dance whereas he conducted drums. He went to St. Peter’s Anglican College in Ikole and conducted in the college band. In 1957, after falling by the wayside of faculty and the death of his father, he left for Ibadan to pursue a profession as a musician. He worked at a bakery whereas playing the drums or flute with juju and konkoma bands.

Orlando Julius might perhaps presumably perhaps perhaps also just additionally be described as one of the most forerunners of Afrobeat. He started off in 1960 with the immense trumpeter Eddy Okonta apart from to IK Dairo. OJ, as he’s fondly known as, left for the us in 1974 and collaborated with artistes together with Ambrose Campbell, Hugh Masekela, Lamont Dozier and a great deal of others. His 1966 effort, Immense Afro Soul, made him a nationwide celeb in Nigeria and even went up to now as to persuade tune in the us.

Carlos Santana for my piece chosen Orlando and his Nigerian All-Stars to accompany him to Hawaii to play at a competition in 1992. By 2001, UK stamp Strut Recordsdata reissued the 1966 album ‘Immense Afro Soul’ earlier than a bunch of labels together with Soundway and Vampi Soul launched his Afro Sounders recordings, all spreading the notice on OJ’s pioneering affect.

He recorded movie soundtracks for Wale Fanu’s ‘Owo Blow’, Tunde Kelani’s ‘Saworoide’ and Tunji Bamishigbin’s ‘Eku Ida’ among many others. Fervent about reviving highlife tune, he recorded albums with Nigerian legends together with Fatai Rolling Buck and Alaba Pedro, Roy Chicago’s guitarist. Just a few of his evergreen classics are; ‘Adara’, ‘Ololufemi’, ‘Colombia’, ‘Ope’, ‘Ise logun ise’, ‘Jagua Nana’ amongst many others.

Orlando Julius moved to Ghana in 2003 after playing a concert at Panafest (the long-working Pan-African Historic Theatre Mission). He location up a studio in Accra and recorded his album, ‘Longevity & Reclamation’. He moved support to Nigeria in 2008 and started touring the world with UK band Heliocentrics in 2013. Orlando Julius lived in Ilesha, Osun deliver alongside with his better half, dancer and backup singer Latoya Aduke Ekemode.

To his musical credit rating are 11 albums and loads of other EPs and singles. Just a few of the albums were: Disco Hi there-Existence, Ololufe, Treasure, Peace and Happiness; Dance Afrobeat and more. “Some I cannot even have in mind”, he recalled in a contemporary interview. “My first tune video, Adara, used to be recorded on the Osun Shrine alongside with Ise Logun Ise and Dance AfroBeat. Tunde Kilani on camera used to be immense, Wale Fanu on sound, an shapely production.”

In that contemporary 2020 interview with iconic photographer and culture fanatic, Bolaji Alonge, OJ recounted his musical odyssey thus: “My skilled tune hotfoot started when I recorded my first single, ‘Igbehin Adara’ in 1960. I was already playing exhibits, travelling up and down South-West Nigeria. I preferred playing tune, singing and drumming from childhood.

“My mother used to be the one who with out a doubt pushed me, she cherished to inform as she worked on yarn – she produced Aso-Oke (a hand-woven fabric created by the Yoruba individuals of West Africa) and when she sang I bought my sakara drums, sat with her and sang alongside. We each preferred to inform together, in most cases she would stroll with me as we sung the total formula to my faculty gate earlier than she went support dwelling.

“My mother gave me garments to sell and my father had a store in Ikole-Ekiti, but I wasn’t drawn to serving to them to sell garments. My father had two wives and my mother used to be the second better half, my mother is from Ekiti and I observed how they helped my father carry materials from Ikole Ekiti to Ijebu, about 285km. From when I was a child, I knew tune used to be the formula for me.”