>>PREVIEW
AFRICA VIOLET
Friday, March 31
The Gateway (Sait)
A first encounter with Lynn Olagundoye’s new album, Africa Violet, will certainly elicit the usual "What!? She’s from Cowtown? No!"
True, in a city better known for its cowboy boots and blues jams, coming across an offering such as Olagundoye’s sincere, soulful sound may be a surprise to some. But also being a city that boasts upwards of a cool million and a fledgling but blossoming arts community, there’s no reason one couldn’t expect a child of the city to create a sound that speaks more of sweaty dancehalls and poorly lit basement jazz clubs than the Red Mile and "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth."
From the smooth opening harmonies of "Beautiful" to the final groovy undulation of "Get Down," Africa Violet announces the arrival of a true musical personality. Be it the excitement of hearing an honest to goodness soul voice not only north of the 49th parallel but in our own backyard, or be it the fact that the music stands on its own, the combination deserves some attention.
At 23 years old, Lynn Olagundoye sings past her years – into the decades where countless broken hearts, whisky stains and cigarette scars have developed a mature musical force. With a voice to match anything mainstream R&B has to offer and a keen ear for subtleties most don’t have, Olagundoye brings a sound reminiscent of acoustic soul songstresses India.Arie and Jill Scott.
"I’m a lover of all music," says Olagundoye. "And I feel that my sound is a mélange of many types of music, namely soul, R&B, hip hop, funk, reggae and jazz. I try not to place myself or my music into a box. I can tell you that we (as a band) are all inspired and influenced by different types of music and I feel that it is evident in our sound."
The seeds of Africa Violet grew from a chance collaboration with Guerilla Funk Monster. A well-placed conversation with then classmate and now bandmate/co-writer James Musulak led Olagundoye to lay down some backing vocals for Guerilla Funk Monster’s last album, Bomb. From there, Africa Violet was born.
"James and I were in the same class and he just happened to tell me about looking for female vocals for some tracks Guerilla Funk Monster were working on," says Olagundoye. "I was actually really shy about my singing at that time, but for some odd reason I offered to help. I was then introduced to the rest of the guys and we’ve been working together ever since."
Humble in her musical training, Olagundoye mentions participation in a high school choir almost in passing and attributes a lot of her success to her work with Guerilla Funk Monster. As her backing band on Africa Violet, it’s understandable and there certainly is that "monster" funk sound – the reggae flavour, the florid, funky bass lines and clever instrumentation.
It’s a remarkable debut and gives an exciting glimpse into what should be a long and prolific musical career. |
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