Obongjayar releases new single ‘Just Cool’ ahead of debut Australian tour
PRAISE FOR Obongjayar
“Some Nights I Dream Of Doors”
“Some Nights I Dream Of Doors”
“Some Nights I Dream Of Doors”
“A master at work”
“A life-affirming record”
“The London multi-hyphenate is building a unique creative cosmology, charting out a fresh universe one song at a time. His debut album is set to be a bona fide cultural event”
“Among the most engaging voices of his generation”
“Nowadays, “genre-bending” is how you describe an artist when you don’t have anything concrete to say about them, and Obongjayar has long since moved past that empty contemporary cliché. On Some Nights, he isn’t concerned with taking existing musical archetypes and bending them slightly, he’s building something new entirely”
“A cohesive statement that weaves the personal and the political, drawing on both his childhood in Nigeria's Cross River State and a young adulthood spent nurtured and embraced by London's thriving indie/jazz diaspora. Given the rare opportunity to shape himself into someone singular, Obongjayar chose to take it”
“Delicately fuses futuristic hip-hop and electronic influences with musical elements from his Nigerian upbringing”
“A passage of emotions and feelings that embody the sporadic and probing nature he suggests governs his music... Obongjayar is no stranger to existing in a cross-section of culture, exploring the themes of chasing fulfilment and wondering where he may fit in”
‘Just Cool’ is out now via September Recordings, buy/stream it here.
A differentiated talent, unlike any other, Nigerian-raised and London-based artist Obongjayar, releases brand new single ‘Just Cool’ out now via September Recordings. The single arrives ahead of his first-ever Australian shows at City Recital Hall and Rising Festival this June. LISTEN + WATCH HERE.
Premiered as Clara Amfo’s Hottest Record, the Karma Kid-produced track marks Obongjayar’s first release since his Ivor Novello-nominated debut album Some Nights I Dream of Doors which landed Double J’s Feature Album on release last year. Arriving just in time for summer with its punchy, sun-drenched rhythms and instantly catchy vocals, ‘Just Cool’ blends elements of 70’s West African funk a la Fela Kuti & Kio Amachree with OB’s ice-cool vocal delivery that showcases an exciting new evolution for an artist that’s consistently one step ahead.
Speaking on the track, Obongjayar says “Everyone is on edge! How could we not be? Where’s our united humanity? Where is our united love for our brothers and sisters and children looking for safety and opportunity? Where is the love for our planet? We’re constantly being lied to, used and squeezed of whatever energy is left in us. We’re in a pit fighting amongst ourselves while the bloodsuckers incite division and cheer from high above while poking at us continuously.”
It’s been an incredible few years for Obongjayar that has seen the visionary artist bounce from strength to strength. He released his epic twelve-track debut Some Nights I Dream of Doors, a gorgeous kaleidoscopic tapestry that bounced effortlessly from Afrobeats and rock through to soul, jazz and everywhere in between; he made his television debut on Later…With Jools Holland; he sold out dates across the UK and Europe including a much-hyped headline show at London’s KOKO.
More recently, Obongjayar was heralded as one of the standout performers at this year’s SXSW; he appeared on landmark UK projects such as Pa Salieu’s Afrikan Rebel and Little Simz’ Mercury Prize-winning LP Sometimes I Might Be Introvert; he released a full EP Sweetness with Nigerian superproducer Sarz; he headlined Art X Festival in Lagos; he collaborated with a vast array of artists such as Giggs, Jeshi, Danny Brown, Kamasi Washington, BOJ, Nubya Garcia and more. Throughout it all, he has effortlessly moulded his transatlantic upbringing to create a distinct and lush sonic palette that is totally singular in nature.
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