Download "The Cure"
by Kuku, The Soldier of Peace
There's something charged and at the same time disarming about a musician performing for an audience with nothing but a voice and an acoustic guitar (ok, in this case plus some low key percussive accompaniment from Jean Emmanuel Fatna). Nothing to hide behind, no effects, no gimmicks, just direct communication of music at its rawest with the musician exposed. And possibly, because the musician is exposed and apparently vulnerable we feel kind of exposed, too. It's as if we listen with our breath held in the hope that they make it through without choking on their emotions or making a mistake.
Kuku (Abdulzatar Adebola Abisoye) is a 'Yoruba soulful roots' artist from Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, Nigeria, who grew up listening to popular Yoruba music styles like Apala, Fuji, Juju, and Waka, alongside American soul music, Reggae, Country Western and other world sounds from his parent's extensive imported vinyl collection, but didn't contemplate music as a career until May 2002 when he paid an impromptu visit to a guitar store in Virginia, USA, bought himself a ninety-nine dollar acoustic guitar and started teaching himself chords, writing a new song with each chord he learnt. And so the journey began.
He's now three albums in (excluding EPs), with a fourth on the way, and we're almost ashamed to admit that we've only just heard of him. To make up for this oversight we listened to his back catalogue and held our head wondering how on earth we could have missed him. If this is the first you're hearing of him, too, have a listen to Love In A Time of Hope & Recession (2010), The Absence of Cool (2007; on which he asks listeners to stop enslaving themselves to the concept of “cool,” – with cool being the absence of emotion), and Unexpected Pleasures (2006). (Incidentally, when is Apple going to stop labelling music by African artists, no matter the style or genre, "World" music?)
The Cure is the first single from his forthcoming album Soldier of Peace (BÁLÓGŪN ÌRÒRÙN, in Yoruba), slated for release in September 2011. The song, a survival anthem about overcoming adversity, was inspired by his encounter with a young boy diagnosed with cancer around 2006. Though the guy died in 2010, Kuku recalled the boy's fighting spirit, his refusal to let the illness define him as a person, and put pen to paper.
You can download the 3-track single from Kuku's Bandcamp page (type "0" in the amount field). However, if Bandcamp's download limit has been reached you can also download from the links below. (Don't forget to thank him for the music)
The Cure (Single) Right-click to DOWNLOAD
The Cure (Instrumental) Right-click to DOWNLOAD
The Cure (A Capella) Right-click to DOWNLOAD
Earlier this year Kuku performed The Cure at the Stop Child Soldier benefit concert at Le Réservoir, Paris France (with bassist Nya M'sk). Check Stop Enfant Soldats for more in information on the campaign (it's in French but Google translate does a reasonable enough job these days).
It comes as a surprise listening to Kuku's music to learn that he once served in the US army, having signed up to pay for his college tuition in the States. But then when we think about what armies are for and all that we've seen happening in the world in the last few years it makes perfect sense for an ex-army guy to become a "soldier of peace". Kuku says the album will bridge the gap between his roots and the western world with a blend of Yoruba, English and Pidgin English lyricism, percussive guitar progression, Udu drum rhythms, topped with the South African Township guitar inflections of co-producer Mongezi Ntaka (Lucky Dube, Vusi Mahlasela, Lorraine Klaasen). And Randall Grass, author and record label executive at Shanachie Entertainment says of Soldier of Peace “The music embraces you, caresses you and has the sustaining quality of a good but simple meal.” From what we've heard of Kuku's music so far, this does not sound like hyperbole, so come on September!
KUKU ONLINE
Official site - Kuku Live
Facebook (Kuku Live)
Facebook (Kuku Music)
Discography
Soundcloud
iTunes
