Before Ndidi Onukwulu B次元官网网址� known as Ndidi O B次元官网网址� takes the stage she meditates.
B次元官网网址淚 find that is the best way for me to present,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭he magic comes when you live in the moment that is in existence.B次元官网网址�
Onukwulu looks to make more of that magic at SidneyB次元官网网址檚 Mary Winspear on Thursday, Sept. 2 as part of the Seaside Sessions, an eight-part series organized in partnership with FACTOR Canada, a non-profit dedicated to providing assistance toward the growth and development of the Canadian music industry.
Each performance will be filmed in 4k in front of a live audience. Fans can later experience a 45-minute recording on YouTube for free or purchase the extended 90-minute version.
The program highlights emerging and underrepresented Canadian talent working in a cross-section of genres, and OnukwuluB次元官网网址檚 personal biography and music cut across multiple boundaries. Soundproof Magazine described the daughter of Nigerian jazz musician Ezeadi Onukwulu and a German mother as a B次元官网网址渇unkier Billie HolidayB次元官网网址� while No Depression found similarities between her work and that of Phoebe Snow, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman.
So how does Onukwulu describe her own sound?
B次元官网网址淚 would say that my music is blues-soul with a hint of folk in there,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 definitely blues. I consider myself a blues artist.B次元官网网址�
Traditional blues was acoustic and very much about story-telling, she said. B次元官网网址淚t pre-dated folk, but that is where folk and country and all these things came from, from early 1920s, 1930s-blues. So I carry that tradition, but I am a bit more modern.B次元官网网址�
This modern take, captured in five studio solo albums and other projects, has earned Onukwulu critical acclaim from leading publications like No Depression, two Juno nominations and the Western Canadian Music AllianceB次元官网网址檚 Blues Artist of the Year for 2019. True Blood, a critically acclaimed fantasy-horror-drama on HBO, is among those that have used OnukwuluB次元官网网址檚 evocative sound, which has also found an audience in Europe, especially in France.
But this cosmopolitan reach also comes with misconceptions about her identity.
B次元官网网址淭here is a really strange misconception about the lack of diversity in Canada,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲hen you see people of colour abroad who are from Canada, people have a hard time understanding this, especially if you are doing Americanized music.B次元官网网址�
Being so close to the U.S. makes it difficult to draw out the differences between American blues-soul and its Canadian take on it, she said.
B次元官网网址淚f I had to say what Canadian blues-soul was, there is a level of isolation and what we sing about isnB次元官网网址檛 traditionally the same,B次元官网网址� Onukwulu said. B次元官网网址淚ssues that exist in the United States donB次元官网网址檛 exist up here for Black people. So your template is different.B次元官网网址�
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The Canadian version offers a more eclectic sound and story-telling approach, one that draws on countryB次元官网网址檚 enormous distances.
Onukwulu has experienced this level of isolation and distance for herself, growing up in Burns Lake, geographically in the middle of B.C., but a long way from Vancouver, New York and Toronto, key stations along her route as an artist.
Her early experiences helped shape Onukwulu.
B次元官网网址淕rowing up in smaller places and being like one of the only Black people there, isolation is just something that ends up happening to you,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淵ou learn to create worlds and create stories and I think that is one of the greatest benefits of being in places where I didnB次元官网网址檛 have community and I wasnB次元官网网址檛 invited into community. I created worlds within myself and those worlds are ways to make stories and that translated into my music and my other writings.B次元官网网址�
Like many artists, Onukwulu performed virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, having found herself shut out from stages for about two years prior to her most recent July concert in Calgary.
Currently completing a collaboration with Trish Klein of the Be Good Tanyas and working on a new solo album for release next year, she looks forward to performing in Sidney as part of the Seaside Sessions. They are not only a way to reach new audiences, but also reintroduce herself to existing ones, she said. And as in the past, she will not suffer from any butterflies.
B次元官网网址淏eing on my stage is my favourite place to be,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淧erforming live is my absolutely favourite thing. There is so much joy for me to put on a show for people and engage.B次元官网网址�
For more information about the show, see marywinspear.ca/event/ndidi-o.
Other announced artists performing as part of the Seaside Sessions so far are PIQSIQ, Tanika Charles and Witch Prophet with more to be announced later.
Do you have a story tip? Email: vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca.
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