Where are you based?
I’m based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Where do you work? What do you do?
I am a freelance writer covering African music and culture so my words appear in a variety of places. I also do the occasional consultation and speaking engagements.
What are you listening to?
I’m listening to a lot of folk and neo-soul music these days. I love Mustafa’s When Smoke Rises; I went back to Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie and Lowell. Then there’s the music of Ibejii, a very talented Nigerian soul singer who recently put out a great project called Intermission.
How do you discover new music?
I try to read a lot of blogs and publications that have music discovery at the core of their work. So, Passion of Weiss, sometimes Pitchfork, and The FACE online. Other times, I get sent emails by musicians or their representatives. I try to get into as much of the music as I can from playlists but I find that I have to get close to the bottom of playlists to find gems because the top can feel a little like a popularity contest.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
I grew up in a digital world so my listening format has mostly been digital. In the early days before a lot of the digital platforms set up shop in Nigeria, I had a small CD player that was my way of keeping in touch with what was happening in the music world.
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I do most of my listening between my room and the living room. Because I work from home, I’m usually between those two places and I just connect to my speaker and try to get into the essence of the song. I try to listen at the highest volume I can go without disturbing my neighbours.
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
I get sent a lot of music pre-release, especially by African acts so it’s just a case of going through my emails and getting to it.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
Asides from getting lots of music that you can barely keep up with, I hate the lack of editorial rigour for releases. There are rarely liner notes or some sort of contextual information provided by the musicians. In the digital world, it can be hard to not feel like music has been totally commodified.
“In the digital world, it can be hard to not feel like music has been totally commodified.”
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
I save the music that appeals to me the most, I just save it and go back as often as possible. On the occasion that I’m taken by a single, I add it to my playlists and rinse it out.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
I try to introduce my friends to the music I love in social settings. We might be catching up and I’d play the songs that are exciting to me. I try to send music recommendations or playlists to friends from time to time.
Anything you want to “promote”?
Listen to “Happy Me” by Ibejii. I consider it such a radical thesis on joy and a necessary record for the times. A piece in Complex UK I wrote.
