King Sunny Ade

If the Ade you know is, like most North Americans, from his early '80s trio of albums on Island Records, this release will come as a major surprise. This is his first American album in many years and sounds like his characteristic juju on steroids. Baba Mo Tunde leans towards juju's speedy stepson, fuji music, which hovers around 150 BPMs. This torrid pace is no problem for the band, which recorded this album at a point of maximum cohesion at the end of a tour. The intensity of the extended grooves ― these are Fela-sized jams, with the longest topping out at 31 minutes ― is leavened by the mawkishly tropical keyboard sounds and Sunny's sugary pop hooks. The atmosphere is almost disturbingly bright and cheery until gradually you realize you're in a deep space trance. In a skilful DJ's hands, the percussion battle royales within the midsections of any one of these songs could be stunning for the dance floor.