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Hey you guys!

And you thought we were going to forget the #OldSchoolFriday again this week… No way! I’m so sorry I couldn’t bring you a track last week.

So like two Fridays ago, I was at the Afropolitan Vibes concert (the IG followers already know this!. Anyway when Adebantu announced a surprise act was coming up, I couldn’t have guessed! Oi! oi! i almost choked while screaming when he called the name Majek Fashek! The performance was electrifying. People screamed like crazy (the man still get am for body). He is doing very very well, and performed some of his evergreen tracks. I also ran into him like two days ago an he was a perfect gentleman! Anyway, I was motivated by all these; to make his ‘Send down the Rain’ our #OldSchoolFriday track for this week.

Enjoy this evergreen reggae track below!

Thanks for stopping by guys!

Merry Christmas!

Love, Yemisi!

 

 

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Hey guys,

Sometimes I wish I could post like every hour because there is so much beautiful music out there! It’s unbelievable the amount of great tunes that come out of Nigeria.

That said, let me share this one with you! Her name is Nana Aisha and the awesome track is called ‘Faraway’.

Anyone who knows me know how much I love soul music. I first heard this song on radio and it literally woke up all my senses. I’m not joking guys, this song made me shiver. The song is unbelievably soulful and the vocals communicate a lot of passion. You should have a listen yourself!

You like?

You can buy the song on iTunes and on every other major music store.

Also follow her on Instagram: @nanaaishaaa and on Twitter: @nanaaishaaa to know where to catch her this Christmas!

Merry Christmas guys and thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Yemisi

 

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Hey guys,

I’m very excited to bring you this post! The first review on this blog goes to *drum roll*—- FEMI LEYE!!!!

For those who didn’t know before now, Femi Leye (Whose full name is Oluwafemi Ogunleye) is a Nigerian Afro Jazz artiste and guitarist whose first album was released on the 7th of September, 2015. The word ‘EKAABO’ which is the title of the 10 track album is yoruba for ‘WELCOME’. The album is almost all instrumental and this already impresses me. To be honest, I didn’t think a Nigerian artiste would be able to pull that off.. But I was proved wrong. I am really impressed by the fact that music can still be complete in itself without any words said. An amazing fusion of deeply rooted African sounds and jazz is what you will find in this album.

The album features only two other artistes -Naomi Mac and Titilope Sonuga.

Track 1 is titled ‘Ekaabo’ and is a 17 second intro track. It is an amazing use of the talking drum and actually makes you want to listen the rest of the album. It is a masterful use of 17 seconds to say ‘welcome’ to the listener!

The second track is called ‘Irawo Owuro’ (which means morning star) shows off Femi Leye’s amazing mastery of the guitar. It’s like I could practically pick out one string after the other (even though I know next to nothing about the guitar). I especially love the first ten seconds of this song.

Track 3 titled ‘Smile’ is extremely calm!  And it’s almost as if you can hear what he’s telling you (stuff like sleep my child, sleep.. lol) It actually makes me smile everytime I hear it.

‘Wewe’ is the fourth track on this album. And this actually the first time you hear a vocal on the album. It features the amazing ‘Naomi Mac’ whose voice I also adore. I think ‘wewe’ is a yoruba word that describes substances in tiny bits. A captivating story of a woman who is about to lose a child, and who’s also in love. Such a very sweet song. And the percussion in this song? Amazing!!

And then track 5- ‘Orin Ife’ which translates to ‘Love Song’. It’s an acoustic sound. All I can hear is guitar and keyboard. It is also a great sound and very gentle on the ears. I have always imagined this song having a re-make featuring a male soul artiste and then with like drums and the ‘whole nine yards’ (I’m not sure why). This is another great track all the same

Track 6- Adina reminds me somehow of Ebenezer Obey and then somehow of Frank Ocean (not that these two have any correlation). This is another track that makes me feel like I can hear what he’s saying. Even though no words are spoken. It creates that slow wind/ sway type mood and creates a picture of afros and oleku  wrappers.

The tempo increases slightly as I get to track 7 titled Rain. This track features Titilope Sonuga who does SPOKEN WORD on the instrumental!!!! Oh yes she does and she kills it!!! The spoken word piece sends one to a place of deep though.. JAZZ+SPOKEN WORD=SCORE!!!

Track 8 is called ‘Better Age’. I unconsciously want to move my head anytime I hear this song. And I love the simple message- Igba Otun Wo’lede (Which means A new dawn has come). Another beautiful song

Sise (Work Hard) is track 9. I think he killed it with this song. And it is my favourite on the album!

Track 10 is titled Ayo (Joy). A song of prayer and prophecy which simply says ‘Joy will not depart from our homes, Our Joy will last forever. It is a beautiful song! And an amazing way to end an album.

Ladies and gentlemen, for me this is an awesome A1 album.

Thanks for blessing us with this Femi! Thank you!

Have you listened before? What do you think? Haven’t listened? Listen below!

Track 1: Ekaabo

Track 2: Irawo Owuro

Track 3: Smile

Track 4: Wewe ft. Naomi Mac

Track 5: Orin Ife

Track 6: Adina

Track 7: Rain ft. Titilope Sonuga

Track 8: Better Age

Track 9: Sise

Track 10: Ayo

Support the music by buying on iTunes, Spinlet, Amazon, Google Music

You can also follow Femi Leye on

Facebook: Femileye1 Twitter: @Femileye  Instagram: @Femileye1 for updates on where to catch him this Christmans

Thanks for Reading guys.

Follow us on Twitter on @naijalternative Instagram on @naijaandalternativemusic and Facebook on NAIJA AND ALTERNATIVE MUSIC BLOG

Thanks for dropping by guys.

Love,

Yemisi

Lagos Jazz Series happening tonight!

Hey guys,

Don’t know where to be this evening? Want to listen to amazing Jazz music? Then you are in luck ladies and gentlemen! The Lagos Jazz Series is happening tonight!

It promises to be an amazing show as it features Yasiin Bey of Mos Def and Seun Kuti & the Egypt ’80 band. Happening at Muri Okunola Park (Adeyemo Alakija), the vent starts 6pm and ends at 9pm.

Tickets cost 5,000Naira only. I think this is such a steal for such an event.

How to get the tickets? Use the direct here or use the Lagos Jazz Series Website and click the GET TICKETS TAB.

Hurry Now! The tickets will soon stop selling..

Will I be there? Unlikely! (And that Sucks!) I do have a couple of exams to write tomorrow and I need to study. In the meantime, please take pictures and get videos. Tag me in you photos and videos and reviews on Twitter @naijalternative and on Instagram @naijaandalternativemusic Facebook: NAIJA ANDALTERATIVE MUSIC BLOG

I will be sure to repost as much as I can.

Have a great weekend guys!

Feed your soul, love the music!

Yemisi!

 

 

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Hey music lovers,

Apologies for the long long silence.. The story is even longer; so I’m not gonna go into it…

So the first time I ever heard of Falana, it was on a radio show. I fell in love with her and her music literally that very moment. You haven’t heard of her? Hmm! Where have you even been? My first thought was ‘Errrrm! Who bears ‘Falana’ as their first name?’ Well, her name is actually Victoria Falana. In my ears, her music is like this magical mix of soulful jazz, and soft ‘R and B’. I met with her at the Radisson Blu edition of Felabration and we shared a few words. I can’t even lie ladies and gentlemen.. I was star struck! So I thought I might bring my readers some of the gist… Enjoy!

*She’s gorgeous yeah? I know*

A Little introduction:

I am a musician, singer and songwriter. My music is my attempt to capture and share moments through music. I create because creation, and creativity are innately a part of who I am, and I choose not to ignore that. Music happens to be my medium of choice. I use the word ‘choice’ in the light sense, because music, and rhythm have always come naturally to me. Music maybe even chose me haha.

What really would you call you style of music?

I guess I call my sound Soul-fusion. I have musical influences that range from jazz, to soul, to afro beat, mixed with some cuban style jazz. It is definitely a real mix of influences.

What instruments do you play?

I wish I could play everything lol! But for now, I play guitar, my cajon and percussive instruments, and piano as well. Working towards being a multi-instrumentalist changes the way I write music, and facilitates my creativity in amazing ways.

Are you in Nigeria?

Yup, I am based in Lagos. Although, I have lived in a couple different cities in my short life. Things Fall Together was recorded in Havana, Cuba and I started my music career in Toronto.

Where can we catch you this Christmas?

 Stay tuned to my social media for upcoming events!

What do you think is the future of alternative music in Nigeria?

Well, I think there is a place for all genres of music, and the Nigerian market is large enough to accommodate all artists and genres. I think no matter where you are in the world, people pay attention to things that are unique and different. As more amazing and unique artist begin to come up, it will be very difficult to ignore and it will really broaden the palette of listeners.

 

She’s interesting, isn’t she? You can follow her on:

Instagram: @falanamusic Twitter @falanamusic Facebook: falanamusic

You can buy her music on her website here

In the meantime, have a quick listen to her songs from her Debut EP ‘Things Fall Together’ below. My favourite is between ‘To Bernard’ and ‘Start Again’. Tell me which is yours!

 

Track 1: Reinfiltrator

 

Track 2: Chances

 

Track 3: Angelitos Negros

 

Track 4: To Bernard

 

Track 5: Start Again (Music Video in Description) I couldn’t embed this one, but you can listen here

https://soundcloud.com/falanamusic/start-again

Thanks for dropping by guys! Leave a comment, share, re post..

Facebook: Naija and Alternative Music Blog Twitter: @naijalternative Instagram: @naijaandalternativemusic

Take care guys!

Love y’all!

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Hey Guys,

How are you all doing?

Anyone remember the ‘I’m in love with the coco’ jam by O.T. Genasis? Well, here’s a Nigerian version. Nigerian Soul/Folk singer, songwriter and guitarist ‘Tonie the Emperor’ brings in an awesome blend of vocals and guitar work. He kills this one in my opinion. Not sure I have ever imagined that this song could ever be so ‘musical’.

Tell me what you think about this one guys.. I think it’s HOTT!!

Listen, enjoy and drop a comment!

 

Here’s to another part of me- Alternative Music

Hey guys,

How are you all doing? Hmm.. Many know me, many don’t!

So I’m Yemisi. Some know me from the girlstayinggorge.wordpress.com blog where I blog about my style, makeup, hair and that kind of stuff. Others know me from izzy-randomstuffs.blogspot.com (I haven’t been there in a whileeeeee) where i just write down every kind of thing that comes to my head. Oh well..

This is yet another part of me.. Music!!! I love music. Even though I can’t read a musical note to save my life, I love to sing, I love to listen, I love to dance.

I believe Nigeria has a truck load of music to offer the world, I’m delighted that we are exploring the afro hip-hop side of things but I also know that the potential that Nigerian alternative music has to offer is hugeeeee!

And that’s why I have started this blog. Let’s talk about Naija Jazz, Soul, Folk, Reggae, Rock (Yes, there are Nigerian Rock Bands), Acoustic Covers and everything alternative music! Let’s make this the place to find it all! Let’s view, let’s review! Lets share the music!

I’m totally excited about this ladies and gentlemen.. So excited! And I hope I can be as constant as possible.

So here’s to us loving the music TOGETHER

Do drop a comment, share etc.

You can find me on social media for updates.

Instagram: @izzyleecious and @girlstayinggorge

Facebook: Yemisi Ariori Please like the Blog Facebook Page: Naija and Alternative Music

Twitter: @izzyleecious

Tootles!

Yemisi