Haruna Isola,
Great Musician
and Visionary Artiste
Until the arrival on the scene of Ayinla Omowura and perhaps the popularity in later years of Epe-born Ligali Mukaiba, Haruna Isola reigned supreme as the foremost Apala music exponent in Nigeria . And before he died, he added a feather to his cap by his unprecedented contribution to the development of the music industry in Africa . With a gentle but compelling rhythm that is steeped in the style of Ajao Oru, leader of an Apala aggregation that first attracted attention in the early 50's to become perhaps the first recorded artist in this music idiom by Philips Recording Company, Haruna Isola truly made his mark and left a valuable legacy behind as the greatest, most popular Apala music exponent the industry ever produced.
His continued success depended on a number of star qualities. As a singer, he bad the ability to create thought-provoking lyrics about issues, places, real life situations and even the philosophy of life where. he was comfortably at home with the use of parables and anecdotes. He consistently projected the virtues of life and living through these channels without soaring to unnecessary praise singing and abuse which later became the order of the day.
Knowing that Apala music, like every other typical African music form is characterised by repetitive rhythm and percussion, he was able to introduce the element of variety to his style through the creation on the spur of the moment, of myriads of choruses which derived inspiration from situational social events as they unfolded themselves. They added extra artistic substance and colour to social commentaries that were rehearsed and pre-meditated.
Besides rhythm which forms the bedrock of Apala music, Haruna realised the essence of a well-blended group-vocal harmony treatment. And so he always had in the band an abundance of percussion while they doubled proficiently on vocals to provide the necessary call and response pattern of music. For this purpose, he had perhaps the best crop of singers at any point in time.
He started out by recording for the multinational companies that pioneered the recording industry like Philips and Decca, but because he was a brilliant businessman and visionary artist, he struck out early enough to set up "Star Records," his own stable for which he recorded such albums and songs as Oluwa nikan Ioba, Oro buruku oni soju wa, Eniti Olorun se fun, among others. The label also accommodated less fortunate musicians who needed his guidance and financial assistance.
But perhaps the greatest achievement for which he will forever be remembered by the recording industry is the fact that he was the first indigenous African to establish a recording company of the magnitude that had all the facilities and accessories in place. One of the memorable sessions that came out of his wonderful set up was Ododun larorogbo, an Apala disco session of nine songs.
Renowned producer Odion Iruoje was in fact part of this revolution that took place at Haruna Isola's Phonodisk Recording Company: "Yes, the late Alhaji was not just a super star musician, he was a super artist who used his legendary status to influence a recording outfit that later revolutionised the industry.
"The main instrument behind this revolution was his nephew, Mr. Adesanya, an American trained businessman who introduced 'class' and finesse into the concept and operations of the industry." Asked how he did it, Odion explained, "First of all, he brought in three Americans to operate the basic systems of the recording complex which included a music company, a recording studio with a separate department for disc-cutting and information transfer from tape to disc, a semi automatic record pressing factory. And to crown it all, there was a motel to take care of artistes and tourists, which was a completely new dimension to the recording industry. The location of the plant and factory was at Ijebu-Igbo, while the music company and administration complex with rehearsal studio were based at Jibowu, Lagos ."
According to Odion, Adesanya who was at the helm of affairs ran the entire organisation in the American style with the support of his cousins and himself. "By the time we put out our first product which happened to be Chris Okotie's I need someone into the market, we took the entire industry by surprise as the record swept through the country like a cyclone.
"This was made possible by our unique approach to artiste and repertoire promotion and marketing. The situation was also enhanced by the efficient facilities available to meet the demand of buyers," Odion explained.
The emergence of Phonodisk woke up from slumber and lethargy all the existing record companies, particularly the multi-nationals. Said he, ''They were forced to brace up to the new challenges that we introduced into the industry. The innovations were out of this world and classy."
Despite this success story, the company's existence was short as it did not thrive for more than three years. As to why it folded up prematurely, Odion further explained, "Somewhere along the line, Phonodisk lost grip with the excellent business approach that characterised its early beginning. The commercial success of the company was abused and recklessly managed, and so its continued existence was in danger."
Even though he was one of the money spinners for the company with the track record of hits such as Chris Okotie's I need someone, Just for you among others, Odion asserted that "it was becoming obvious that Phonodisk had lost control with business discipline, because the momentum and the Ijebu man's business acumen and discipline that Baba Haruna Isola initially employed were dying down. I joined Phonodisk to build it not to destroy it. I could see the handwriting on the wall that Phonodisk was crumbling, and it eventually died."
Short lived though its existence was, it made history and introduced a lot of innovations into the system. And looking back to remember some of them, Odion pointed out, "Phonodisk was the first to put our artistes on a round the country promotional tour- Fela and Roy Ayers of America were involved in 1982, and the fallout of this tour was a joint album by the two artistes.
"Undergraduates and graduates were attracted to the industry through the successful example of Chris Okotie, a law student at the time," Following on the heels of Okotie at the time were Vera Ifudu, Amas, Onyeka Onwenu, Funmi Adams, among others.
Iruoje it was, who produced Ayinla Omowura's Danfo Osiere, the hit that brought him into limelight in 1970, and with the impact made by Omowura on the then scene, Haruna Isola's popularity began to decline. Ayinla Omowura revolutionised Apala music by appealing to the youth and the masses, while Haruna's Apala was like "faaji" music for the conservatives. Omowura even attracted most of the traditional worshippers like Ogun and Sango, and with the masses, his fans were found among the danfo and molue drivers, meat sellers and market women. And like Fela, Omowura was an institution with all the area boys behind him.
However, Haruna Isola remains the most influential and established artist whose name is synonymous with Apala music. He was not literate, but he achieved a feat in the industry, had a vision which did not even occur to the literate " moneybags, let alone government.
Haruna Isola's name has gone down in history as having succeeded in taking the operation and reputation of the recording industry in Africa to ...
By Benson Idonije. |
