Aladesanmi Aridunnu opens up the “We Dance, We Praise” medley with a stunning guitar riff, followed by a vibrant talking drum percussion that helps to set the tone for the entire 22-minute spin. The song accompanies guest female vocals, revamping the popular Yoruba Christian Hymn “Fi Iyin Fun Jesu Olurapada Wa” within a high-toned praise groove. The next song “You Are Too Faithful To Fail Me” enters with Aridunnu’s high pitched alto, creating an intriguing transition that helps to keep one hooked. The song continues to float on the bassy talking drums, as well as Tom Drums, spinning with African percussive brilliance.

The next songs, “Olorun Babalola”, “Generations After Generations”, and “Igbayi Lola Mi Sese Bere” continue with a euphony of the Gangan, and a spirited choir backing Aridunnu’s vocals. Aridunnu’s sonority is a strong pleasure-point of the entire medley, especially with his charismatic bursts of Yoruba words in his transitions.

When the medley snowballed into the fifth song, “I Call You Ebube Dike”, this writer was impressed with Aridunnu’s interesting code-switching between the Igbo and Yoruba language. The Yoruba Christian chants used to transition from this to the next song around 09:35 time stop in the medley infused another dramatic feel to the entire medley. The medley, which was recorded for a live-performance, shines for its vibrant transitions, mostly adopting chants, or instruments.

While the “We Dance, We Praise” medley features a monotone of Nigerian Christian praise melodies, it mostly showcases stylistic diversity through the tempo switches for both vocals and percussion. It’s an interesting listen, but one that might easily cause fatigue after several relistens with the talking drum monotone. The overall medley, at 22 minutes, feels refreshing to hear, but might not brim with replay value.

The medley continues with other hymns including “Bi gbogbo Aye dite mowa”, “Jesu Joba layeyi o”, “Gbogbo wa la o ribunkungba”, showcasing Aridunnu’s tight groove even further. At the medley’s close, two hymns “Oke nlala Oke wewe”, and “Eyin ni Oluwa Jehova” drive home the crescendo with Aridunnu’s soulful delivery.

The instrumental variety — pulsing with standard drum sets, as well as African percussion like the GanGan — cohesion, energetic delivery and the overall emotive feel of the medley ranks it as a powerful addition to the library of Nigeria Christian Praise jams.

Per the sound quality, Aridunnu’s seamless mix helps to accentuate the beauty of each individual instrument, especially the indigenous African percussion. With each instrumental transition, he fades their gritty textures to chaperone the vocal performances on each track. With expert sound recording and mixing techniques, the record brims as a very easy listen, one poised to elevate its replay value across all audiences.

Overall, the song’s stellar vocal delivery, including the backing vocals, nit-picked instrumental progressions, cathartic function, as well as a seamless audio mix, piques the sweetness of the record, making it one of Aridunnu’s best works so far.

Aladesanmi Aridunnu’s rise within the African Christian Gospel musicdom glimmers for his very cathartic discography, which blends live performance energy with stellar vocal delivery. With “We Dance, We Praise”, he continues to set sail on his voyage of amplifying Nigerian Christian Worship music across global audiences.