A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure to them, such as the common ABA form, and are usually made of sections that are repeated or performed with variation later. A song without instruments is said to be a cappella.
The music of Nigeria includes many kinds of folk and popular music. Little of the country's music history prior to European contact has been preserved, although bronze carvings dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries have been found depicting musicians and their instruments. The country's most internationally renowned genres are Indigenous, Apala, Aurrebbe music, Rara music, Were music, Ogene, Fuji, Jùjú, Afrobeat, Afrobeats, Igbo highlife, Afro-juju, Waka, Igbo rap, Gospel,Nigerian pop and Yo-pop. Styles of folk music are related to the over 250 ethnic groups in the country, each with their own techniques, instruments, and songs. The largest ethnic groups are the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. Traditional music from Nigeria and throughout Africa is often functional; in other words, it is performed to mark a ritual such as the wedding or funeral and not to achieve artistic goals. Although some Nigerians, especially children and the elderly, play instruments for their own amusement, solo performance is otherwise rare. Music is closely linked to agriculture, and there are restrictions on, for example, which instruments can be played during different parts of the planting season.
Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, known professionally as King Sunny Adé, is a Nigerian jùjú singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is regarded as one of the first African pop musicians to gain international success, and has been called one of the most influential musicians of all time.
The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in London in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained the only constant member throughout the band's career. They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with rock and roll. They dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career. The group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between the Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."
The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query (bass), and John Moen (drums).
Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years as "Tyger" Hutchings, is an English bassist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of three noteworthy English folk-rock bands: Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band. Hutchings has overseen numerous other projects, including records and live theatre, and has collaborated on film and television projects.
Alan Stivell is a Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music. As a bagpiper and bombard player, he modernized traditional Breton music and singing in the Breton language. A precursor of Celtic rock, he is inspired by the union of the Celtic cultures and is a keeper of the Breton culture.
Nick Harper is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper.
Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. Joined by singer and double-bassist Miranda Sykes for a tour in 2004, Show of Hands continued to regularly perform as a trio with Sykes, as well as in their original format. In 2019, the line-up was further expanded by the addition of Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne.
Rex Jim Lawson, known as Cardinal Rex, was a singer, trumpeter and bandleader from Buguma, Nigeria. He became one of the best-known highlife musicians of the 1960s in Africa when Cardinal and his band dominated Nigeria's highlife scene.
Jim Causley is an English folk singer, songwriter, and musician from Devon who specializes in the traditional songs and music of the West Country. Journalist Colin Irwin has called him "the finest singer of his generation".
Do Make Say Think is a Canadian instrumental band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1995. Their music combines jazz-style drumming, distorted guitars and wind instruments, and prominent bass guitar.
The North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO) is an English contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber orchestra. Formed in 2002, the NSRO was set up mainly as a vehicle for the compositions of its musical director, Craig Fortnam, but has also performed works by William D. Drake and James Larcombe. The ensemble is notable for its post-modern fusion of Romantic music and later twentieth-century forms, and for its bridging of the worlds of contemporary classical music, British folk music, London art rock and poetry.
Afropolitan Vibes is a live music concert series & annual music festival in Lagos, Nigeria. The show was created by Ade Bantu and Abby Ogunsanya in 2013 as a platform to showcase alternative music. Every edition features three or four contemporary singer/songwriters, vocalists or musicians who perform mostly original works that are firmly rooted in African musical origins of Afrobeat, Afrofunk, Afro-hiphop, Afro-pop, and Highlife. All acts perform with the 13 piece BANTU collective No miming is allowed at the shows. From 2013 to 2017 Afropolitan Vibes had a monthly residency at Freedom Park, a former British Colonial Prison on Lagos Island. In May 2017 the producers of the show announced a change of venue to Muri Okunola Park in Lagos and that the concert series would now hold every third Friday of each quarter
Bantu is a 13-piece band based in Lagos, Nigeria. Their music is a fusion of Afrofunk, Afrobeat, highlife and Yoruba music. The group features multi-instrumentalists and singers who perform as a collective.
Live in Dublin is the second live album by Irish folk rock band Moving Hearts, recorded in 2007 at the Vicar Street venue in Dublin by Tim Martin. Noel Eccles and Keith Donald were executive producers, and the album was mixed by Andrew Boland and mastered by Martin Giles at Alchemy, in London.
Agberos International is the 5th studio album by BANTU. The album was composed and written by all 13 members of the band. It was recorded live in Lagos, Nigeria, over six years. The title of the album Agberos International was inspired by Lagos public bus conductors known as agberos who attract customers to board their vehicles through their wild gesticulations and loud voices. The album was released on 7 July 2017 by Soledad Productions. The subject matter on Agberos International is centered around the Niger Delta crisis, oppressive Western policies and the blind African ruling class.
Wesli is the stage name of Wesley Louissaint, a Haitian Canadian Singer-songwriter, guitarist and a record producer. He is most noted for winning the Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019 for his album Rapadou Kreyol.
Christopher Isola Ajilo was a Nigerian musician and record producer whose band Chris Ajilo and His Cubanos released Ariwo and Eko O Gba Gbere.
The EniObanke Music Festival (EMUfest) is a modest, multi-city festival of music which holds annually in Nigeria. It was established in 2010 by folk and roots musician, Beautiful Nubia and primarily designed as a platform for the discovery of new and emerging talent and the celebration of established names. While the main focus of the festival is music - mainly traditional folk, contemporary folk, folk-fusion, and folk-derived pop - it has also featured poetry, dance, drama and the visual arts.
