| Barikada
- World Of Music - Svastara - 2007 |
|
AYO is soul / folk / reggae musician from Paris,
France.
AYO is a German born artist, the offspring of a Nigerian father who had come
to Germany to study in the 1970s, and sometimes worked as a DJ, and a mother
who is a gypsy. AYO's rather unusual name means joy in Yoruba. Her rich cultural
background is also reflected in her musical influences. She grew up amidst
Pink Floyd and Fela Kuti, the Soul Children and Bob Marley, and many others.
AYO's nomadic lifestyle brought her to live between Paris and New York, two
capitals that accurately sum up her musical identity. In Paris, word got around
fast, and she held initial solo concerts with her guitar, opened for Omar,
the British soul brother and jammed alongside Cody Chesnutt.
AYO's entire album, "Joyful", was recorded in New York under live conditions.
She cries, laughs and moves us with her simplicity. To accompany her, producer
Jay Newland put together a group of open-minded musicians that, with a note
on a B3 organ or with a stroke of slide guitar melodiously enter this unusual
world, which is studded with a few words in Pidgin, the street language of
Lagos, and unveils recollections of gypsy life.
In addition to her parents,
two other influences helped her set the tone of this album, which very well
could have been recorded some 35 years ago. Firstly, theres mentor Donny
Hathaway. Her other reference is Jimmy Cliff. Like her predecessors, she strives
to naturally
and sincerely share her stories and touch others, boosted solely by her life
experience and her dreams.
| 
