Haruna Ishola

Who was Haruna Ishola?

Haruna Ishola Bello was a Nigerian musician, and one of the most popular artist in the apala genre. Haruna Ishola Born: Unknown, Ijebu-igbo Died: 1983

In the decades leading up to Nigerian independence in 1960, apala music developed when amateur musicians would play to arouse the faithful after the long fast of Ramadan. Born in the town of Ijebu-igbo, 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 instruments into his musical lineup.

Ishola would sit when performing, surrounded by two talking drummers, shaker and bell, and a chorus of singers. Also central to his sound was the agidigbo, a hollow lamellophone, both plucked and struck to create a hypnotic ostinato at the center of the apala sound. Andy Frankel, who produced Apala Messenger, an excellent retrospective of Ishola's work, lived in Nigeria during the 1980s.