Music
OBY decided, after a long hiatus to dabble her feet in musical waters once more but this time with a twist and added depth. Looking through the lens of an Anthropologist as she became, she decided to redirect her genre into an ‘Africanist’ paradigm that is a conflation of her intellectual discipline and heritage. Hence another Album simply titled ‘HERITAGE’.
ALBUM CONCEPT.
Oby Onyioha’s music is an introduction into mostly old and classic African centered melodies, lyrics, expressions, sentimentality, and interpretations, with some influences reflecting a musical universality with other cultures over the centuries. The result is a dynamic synthesis that showcases African music in a fluidity of sound, weaving seamlessly from African into western and other influences and back again creating a genre she labels ATRADO RHYTHMS.
Some African artists have tried over previous years to develop an ‘Africaness’ to their particular sound. The results have been admirable in some while others either developed a mish-mash of sounds, or a unique blend that became one dimensional in some aspects. OBY's however, is so finely balanced and poised on just the right edge to make it pleasantly unique, drawing you in with plaintive, nostalgic chords, some unique drum sounds of Ancient Africa and the odd unexpected pathos that stirs the soul as one consequently reach for that box of Kleenex!