Creativity
Ayo "Joyful", A gem
© Polydor 2006, Universal Music
This is a must-have recording – one of the best to appear in recent months. Ayo’s voice and music, her talent, her originality, her eclecticism, and her musical maturity combine to make this a real gem. Ayo was brought up by her Nigerian DJ father to the tones, subtleties and rhythms of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Pink Floyd and all the many styles of African, American and European music of the 1960s and 1970s. Her mother’s influence is also in the mix, a gypsy from Slovenia in Central Europe. The result is a music that defies all classification. Afro-gipsy, Afro-Tzigane, nu soul, folk-reggae… Yes, there is a touch of all these but it is first and foremost Ayo.
The sheer sensuality of her voice and music combine with a dramatic intensity to make a number such as ‘Down on My Knees’, which is nothing less than a masterpiece, and I don’t use the word lightly. Set against a quasi-reggae background, all the spices and fragrances of Ayo’s music and being can be felt in this song. The impact is uniquely dramatic as her sweetly nasal, yet velvety soft voice, breathes the raw heartfelt emotion of a sensitive heart, punctuated by the beat of the bass drum. “Don't leave me… I'm begging… I love you, I need you, I'm dying, I'm crying… I'm begging… I love you…” A drum roll against the background of a smooth gypsy accordion carrying swing music to new heights and keeping it there. Phew! The other 11 tunes are all different and all just as wonderful. Ayo (Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin) writes her own songs, arranges them, interprets them on guitar, and records them live. Oh yes, and she’s exceedingly beautiful, too!
