While I am not much of a fan of Beyonce, or Rock-styled music - I confess this one Rocks:
Titled - American Prayer, Its another glaring testament to the endless beauty of live music: The instruments all come alive, the voice (if good) connects to a channel in your brain, and you are taken out of this world.
This song came up on my YahooMusic Launchcast, and left me wanting more. I just love the clarity and natural feel of the strings the U2 guys were playing.
The video below doesn't do justice to the track, as it is heavily compressed but Beyonce surely looks stunning in her African attire. I could marry her...
Asa - another new singer coming from namespace Nigeria- apparently has been around for sometime. I got to know of her approximately 4+ months back, sitting on the tube on the way to work.
The free london Metro had done a quarter-page review. I rarely read reviews, but on this day, I somehow got struck by this CD cover nicely doting the newsitem on the newspaper.
Few weeks later, I got this MP3 from someone. He wanted me to 'feel it' - the latest, exiled Nigerian artist, rocking the airwaves....
At first, It sounded a little too scripted. My initial reaction was "oh!-another-generic-mix-of-bass-and-strings-passing-off-". I was wrong. I keep getting refferals, from folks to check the songs out again. At the moment, I have listened to the following tracks
Jailer + Bibanke + and 360.
They all sound soulful, modern and quite infectious if you are in your elements. Or trying to get into it.
I have played 360 up to a hundred times on my phone while on the tube, and I admit, its definetely a good mix. The strings and chords are rich, and quite simple.
The voice, Asa's voice, may not compare in mellow to a Dido, but it isn't as pitched or abrasive, like that of a Mary J. Blige. And Asa would hate to be compared in the first place....
That said, Asa does not make any attempt to emphasize the color of her voice. She just sings. She also reminds one of the colorful blend of thick and 'live' drums, infused with really low pitched Chords, a masterclass of a Sade or the the Tracy Chapmans.
What she needs, going further however, would be further releases that builds on her evolving credential, as the next performer of soulful RnB musicians, to come from the continent of the complicated....
WIDGETIZE