Jay U Xperience's Abjua is an EP release extracted from a lost ’93 CD only album by famed Nigerian artist ‘Jay U Xperience’. Here, modern technology meshes with timeless African Rhythms and the heartfelt influences of New York City.
Jay U Xperience is the pseudonym of acclaimed Nigerian musician Justus Nkwane.
His first release ‘Enough Is Enough’ was a heavy blend of psychedelic rock and funk epitomising 1977 and yet foreshadows Justus’ experimental and genre-spanning inquisitiveness. Justus wouldn’t record another album until 1993 while living in New York City. Here he emerged with ‘Ancestral Call’, an album that he describes as a “once in a lifetime event”, something from his “inner spiritual guts”.
Equipped with a Roland R-5 drum machine and a Roland U-20 synthesizer to extract melodies he was able to create tunes that encapsulated contemporary technology with timeless traditional African rhythms, creating a work that sounds just as relevant Today as it did then. Tracks like ‘Back To Motherland’ & ‘Ancestral Call’ personify this sound, while ‘Okokobioko’, is an onomatopoeic excursion in losing yourself to the rhythm, the EP is then rounded off with the title track ‘Abuja’, a ghostly striped back piece.
Tracklist:
1. Back To Motherland 06:13
2. Ancestral Call 08:00
3. Okokobioko 06:40
4. Abuja 06:22
Format: 12-inch Vinyl EP
Label: Left Ear Records
Catalog: LER1019
Released: May 2019
Genre: African / Electronic
