Nigerian Music Nigeria – Being Siji

Source:Akintayo Abodunrin, 234Next, May 15, 2010

Siji

People love being appreciated and Siji is no different. Though he isn’t yet a mainstream musician, he is glad people responded warmly to his recent show at Jazzhole, Lagos. “It only served to confirm my belief that there is plenty of room for an alternative music scene here. The love they (audience) showed was overwhelming, it was a beautiful thing,” he recalls.

But I couldn’t resist telling him that hip hop -- rather than his, Ade Bantu, Beautiful Nubia and Nneka’s kind of music -- appears to be the rave among youth. “We are a bit on the fringe because people in the media have yet to show us any love. The media dictates popular taste. If you guys get on board, everybody follows,” he replies.

Nonetheless, he has been busy on the performance circuit; collaborating with other artists, and using the Internet to reach out to people. He is also on a promotional tour of West Africa. He has shows coming up in Abuja and Ghana amongst other places. “I’m reaching out to people and planting the seed. In the next year or two, I’ll be looking for key concerts all over the continent. Nigeria turns 50 this year, I have a few shows that I have lined up to do [mark] that. I have some work with Wunmi in Ghana, the World Cup in South Africa is about to start, I intend to be there and do some shows. Guerrilla style promotional tour; have voice, will travel.”

Traditional artist

He featured a recital of his oriki (lineage praise poetry) by his father on ‘God Given’, his debut album. He explains why. “That was his way of giving me his blessing. Initially, I didn’t get a lot of support as an artist. I had to be an engineer first before I could be an artist. I studied mechanical engineering and once I had my degree, I took off my hat and plunged into music. The oriki track was very popular amongst people in the Diaspora, especially among the non Yoruba speaking people. The funny thing is that we are going through a generational change, I can’t recite my oriki. It’s a beautiful thing that I recorded it on tape so I can pass it down to my children and children’s children.”

The musician’s dad also opened his show at Jazzhole with his oriki. “Beautiful thing to have done and I captured it for posterity. I’m a firm believer in the fact that if we don’t keep the language of culture intact, overtime, we will lose it and I see that happening already. I see little kids who grew up here, who were born here who can’t speak a word of Yoruba and it saddens me because you have the funny feeling that in a few years, in a few generations down the line, the culture would have probably vanished if we are not careful.”

Afro Soul

Though it is easy to call his music folk music, Siji says it is actually ‘Afro Soul’. “It is soul music at its core level but it’s heavily influenced by African rhythm. It took me some time… I only started singing in Yoruba recently. I was working with a great producer in New York and he inspired me to start singing in my language. We did the cover song ‘Irinajo’ and that turned out to be a huge hit and really got me thinking that wow, I need to begin to showcase my ethnicity more than ever in my songs. It’s been an ongoing quest. I think I’ve found my groove, I’ve found a comfortable medium within which to showcase my ability, be it the instrumentation or the lyrics. I think I’ve found a comfortable balance and I call it Afro Soul.”

Talking drum and horns, he explains, are vital components of his music because, “When I write music, the rhythm comes to me first. The talking drum itself is a very tonal instrument. It’s a deep instrument; you can say a lot of things with it. It’s been very helpful in anchoring that African rhythm thing I’ve been trying to infuse my music with. And the horns of course, you can’t go wrong with horns.”

Music and Engineering

Though he holds a first degree and masters in Mechanical Engineering, Siji had always been in love with music. “I found the perfect opportunity to satisfy my musical curiosity while studying for my Engineering degree. They had a grand piano in one of the theatres and I was always on it trying to figure out sound. I taught myself how to play the piano while studying for my degree, so it was only a matter of time. I guess the seed was planted early while studying for my mechanical engineering degree.”

He hasn’t been surviving solely on music, however. “The funny thing is that my Mechanical Engineering degree has been an asset to me. I consult during the down times in my music career; I was able to sustain myself by consulting as an architecture draughtsman. My degree has always been an asset, it’s never been a liability.”

The bachelor reveals why his second album is self titled. “It’s a full portrayal of where I stand as an individual and as an artist. If you noticed, a lot of my musical pieces are autobiographical in nature, everything I sing about are felt experiences on the one hand, opinions about life and things. All my personal experiences I put them into my music. So, ‘Adesiji’ is a full portrayal of where I am today as an artist and an individual.”

He is happy that the album is “a great progression from where I was with the first album. The African thing is at the forefront in my music now.” The album includes tracks like ‘Morenike’,’ Irinajo’ and ’Enia Dudu’ The artist who unwinds by cooking, travelling, walking and loves photography, clarifies that ‘Morenike’ isn’t about a former or present lover. “It is about the name itself. If I have a daughter, I will name her Morenike because I‘ve always loved the cadence of that word. I wrote it from that perspective. I’m not a father yet but I pray to one day have a baby daughter I will call Morenike.”

Yearning for home

He made ‘Yearning For Home’, his first ever video because “My friend had been telling me I need to cut a video for my music. When he heard my second album he said it’s like you have built the Empire State building but you haven’t put any elevator in it. So, I listened to the record and I felt ‘Yearning For Home’ will be a perfect vehicle with which to tell a particular story; my wanting to look at my ancestral homeland. It has awakened my interest in video and one day, I would love to shoot a movie or documentary. Getting behind the camera to direct my own work opened the world of film to me.”

The proprietor of Ivy Records draws inspiration from everyday people and everyday living and has resolved to use “Nigeria as the backdrop for my next project.” People he looks up to musically include Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Al Green, John Coltrane, Fela, Haruna Ishola and Fatai Rolling Dollar.

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