Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: My childhood impacted my musical career through the language of my parents who were Yorubas. The Yorubas can be found all over the world. Today many of them can be found in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, in Brazil, Cuba and parts of the Caribbean, not to mention the UK. The sound of my language is tonal, and this has had a profound effect on how I hear music. Drumming is a powerful and fundamental part of music in Yorubaland. The drums can imitate the sound of the language. So, melody and rhythm are part of one sound in Yorubaland. You must attend fully to both when writing music. Because I am a percussionist composer, this interplay is a constant source of inspiration to me. I started rather late in my music career because my parents wanted us to pursue an academic career. It was after reading the works of Professor Wole Soyinka and listening to the music of his cousin Fela Anikulapo Kuti way back in the 80’s, that I was thrown into a world of new possibilities as a young Nigerian growing up in the Uk. Fela and Prof Soyinka showed me that I could pursue a life outside of academia and still maintain that sense of being Yoruba, but in a way that presented or introduced a UK perspective within the idea of being Yoruba. So, I do not think of myself as either or, but both at the same time. So, my journey of exploration through music, around this theme began with these two giants of creativity.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Sola Akingbola”?
A: We are working on producing as much good quality content as we can around the world we are exploring, whilst also working on performing live as much as possible, because this is a powerful live sound, that needs to be experienced in that way as well as in the privacy of one’s headphones! My message is ‘get ready to bath in a profound sound of philosophy, poetry and music, driven by the drum in an entirely new way.’
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Right now, I’m really enjoying the work of Sampha and Kumasi Washington. Over the last few years my inspiration has come from studying the great poems of Ifa which is a body of knowledge developed and sustained by great Yoruba thinkers of the past and present. I am also completely enraptured by the work of Bach and Ralph Vaughan Williams. During the pandemic, I picked up the piano again after many years of neglect and now I can’t go a day without twinkling around with one of Bach’s inventions. Inspiration can come from all sorts of sources outside of music: theatre or film or an amazing book – Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, was my last read.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the album, “How Should I.”?
A: It’s a difficult question to answer, because sometimes we are not sure what we are trying to say, we are simply trying to explore feelings, although we then realize that it’s not so easy to express. This is why, I think, the creative mediums are so interesting: there are so many perspectives around the same themes, and we are all trying to objectify if you like those perspectives through our multiple creative methods. In a few words, I guess I am trying to explore what it feels and sounds like to grow up in a space that is apparently different to the place of my birth, and how to make sense of this, through the tensions of family, identity and the complicated, constrictive and yet expansive ideas of
culture.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Epic
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “How Should I“?
A: Mainly the expense of trying to record the music in the way that I needed to. I wanted it to be with the best musicians I could engage with, and afford. The best musicians are, of course, very busy. So having to be patient and work around people’s schedules, whilst also trying to discover new up and coming talent and give them the time and space to make mistakes, and find their way into the music, which was unfamiliar territory for many of them, even the top players. An example was when we scheduled a day for Sheila Atim – the lead vocalist on the album title track How Should I -to come and record her part, she was due to fly out that same evening to Africa for a huge movie with one of the biggest female actors in Hollywood. We didn’t have much time with her, so we needed to get the room prepared and simply give her the space and trust her brilliance. She was amazing, two takes and she was done. In the cab and on her way to the airport. So, flexibility and adaptability has been a constant challenge throughout the production process.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I hope the music will speak for itself and any message will be in the minds of each person that listens to it. As an artist I would like to continue to create environments for sustained artistic growth, cultural and creative engagement and learning, through our respective creative mediums. And of course, play the hell out of this music on the live circuit.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Bach
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Keep on that learning curve, get out there and play live and meet other artists. Play the long game and be patient, keep your mind on developing your craft.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Application and concentration Sola.
