Download Apala By Haruna Ishola PATCHED

Ishola's first album in 1948, Late Oba Adeboye (The Orimolusi Of Ijebu Igbo) released under His Masters Voice (HMV), was a commercial flop, but his relentless touring gave him a reputation as the most in-demand entertainer for parties among the wealthy Nigerian elite. In 1955, a rerecorded version of his 1948 album was released following the death of Oba Adeboye in an incident in an air accident on BOAC operated Argonaut G-ALHL,[2] the re-released record soon raised his profile.[3] Haruna Ishola began recording apala numbers in about 1955, and soon became the most popular artist in the genre, and one of the most respected praise singers in Nigeria. Ishola adapted and stuck to a strong traditionalist approach, citing both Yoruba proverbs and Koranic scripture in his songs, and introducing no Western musical instruments into his musical line-up. Before the end of 1950s, he introduced shekere into his music, and recorded a song in 1960 for Decca Records titled "Punctuality is the Soul of Business".[2] In 1962, he recorded his first LP; it had two sides with five songs on each side. Three of the five songs on side A were in praise to prominent people. On side B, are singles "Mo so pe moku" and "Ika Ko Wunwon".[4]

Ishola would sit when performing, surrounded by two talking drummers, lamellaphone, shakers, agogo bells, akuba, and claves, and a chorus of singers.[5] Also central to his sound was the agidigbo, a hollow lamellophone (thumb piano), both plucked and struck to create a hypnotic ostinato at the center of the apala sound. Andy Frankel, who produced Apala Messenger (IndigiDisc 2001), a retrospective of Ishola's work, lived in Nigeria during the 1980s. He wrote in the CD liner notes, "Among the most memorable anecdotes were that Haruna Ishola's voice was so powerful that his praise singing could kill its intended recipient if not provided with restraint. It went without saying that if you had to go, being done in by the praises of this man was not a bad option."