Artists
"All my LP instruments give me a beautiful tone, and once I hear them, my imagination is sparked. And LP helps me keep abreast of new advances in music technology."
Percussionist Sola Akingbola says his career has been "turbo-charged" by the success of British acid-funk band Jamiroquai, whose first two albums rocked the UK charts in the mid-90s. Akingbola appears on Jamiroquai's third release, "Travelling Without Moving," which extended the group's popularity to the US. He has also recorded in recent years with prominent soul-jazz guitarist Ronny Jordan, and performed with Aswad, Britain's most enduring reggae band. In addition, he is a percussionist and musical director for Yoruba Jazzpeople (YJP).
Of Nigerian, specifically Yoruba descent, Akingbola grew up listening to traditional drum-centric Yoruba music. Several Yoruba artists, including some now familiar to Western audiences including King Sunny Ade, Ayinla Kollington, and Fela Anikulapo Kuti, influenced him.
Sola began his career as a vocalist ten years ago in London, when percussionist Gaspar Lawal, after working with such 60s rock giants as Ginger Baker and Stevie Winwood, asked him to join The Oro Band. "Oro was an incredible combination of the music I'd heard as a child, but with a modern dimension, and always with an emphasis on drums." The backup singer soon began experimenting with agogos and cowbells, and after two years "graduated" to a percussion slot.
Akingbola still considers Lawal's innovative grooves "an inspiration" and today, YJP performs many Yoruba standards and includes one other members of Oro who is fronted by four powerful percussionists on Bata, talking drums, congas, and timbales.
Akingbola still has the first LP drums he acquired: two fiberglass and one wood conga. "All my LP instruments give me a beautiful tone, and once I hear them, my imagination is sparked. And LP helps me keep abreast of new advances in music technology."
