How was it growing up between Lagos and London, two of the craziest cities?
Lagos is a very wild place, it’s crazy but I love it. It’s really booming there at the moment. I was back and forth for a while between London and Lagos and the final move to London came when I was 14.
Nigeria’s music scene is really popular now – you’ve got the growing Afrobeats scene but you also have loads of niche genres represented there now. There is even a strong heavy metal scene, it’s so bizarre – Nigerian guys dressed up in Leather jackets and everything.
Growing up I liked embracing anything that was other than the standard. When I started making music I wanted my different musical influences to be properly represented within my work. My sound is made up of so many different thoughts and ideas – sometimes that works for me and sometimes it works against me. I was heavily in to Aphex Twin growing up and his production was such a massive influence on me; I was listening to ‘drukQs’ just today actually and that album is just so pioneering.
Take me through what helped shape your latest album, ‘Your Psyche’s Rainbow Panorama’.
On the latest album each track is simply named after an emotion I was feeling at the time. I wrote most of the album in around two weeks and the conceptualizing came after. Rather than starting with the concept, the curation naturally came after. It is experimental by nature but there are actually are a lot of pop elements. I wanted to ensure it was still digestible for a casual listener as well for listeners seeking more complex components.
I was directly inspired by my favourite artist Olafur Eliasson. What I love about him so much is his mind, he’s a philosopher just as much as he is an artist. Some things just came out of me experiencing his work; many of his pieces are social experiments so a lot of it is based on how this made me feel and how I reacted to his work. He is democratizing high art, a lot of his work is incredibly complex but he has made it in a bodily way that everyone can understand it – that is exactly what I want my music to be like.
The album title – ‘Your Psyche’s Rainbow Panorama’ – stems from one of Eliasson’s installations, entitled ‘Your Rainbow Panorama’, that I went to see in Aahus, Denmark. It was space that unified people’s opposing ideologies. When you’re experiencing something that is abstract, you don’t feel as if anyone has a better interpretation of it.
Everyone’s interpretation is just as valuable as the next person’s and that is incredibly powerful. It is high art but for everybody. I’ve been to his latest exhibition at the Tate Modern about 9 times now, I had the pleasure of meeting up with him as well, which was just such an honour, he is such a calming presence.
How have your experiences in London helped to inspire your music?
The bassline at the end of ‘HAPLESS’ has a really London, skanky type feel. Although it sounds very African, the bassline could almost be in a Grime tune. That distinctive sound that resonates from London clubs makes me feel good, I love it. There are a few tracks and artists that really represent my love for London.
‘Rolling with the Punches’ by Perevelist, is just gas and same for ‘Changes’ by Mala. When I was younger I was really into BBK (Boy Better Know) and then Giggs. I’m big on Giggs in general, he is what he is and his music really transcends any genre, although it may just come across as UK rap.
You have a really interesting live set up, what was the process behind this?
I’ve managed to get my live setup down to 3 keyboards; it used to be 4 but I wanted to make it more streamlined. I have the 3 synths and my laptop which acts as a drum machine, and then I have my vocals over the top. Nils Frahm synth setup is what inspired me to buy hardware when I was experimenting with my sound at University. Frahm is a fucking guru when it comes to designing analogue synth sounds and obviously he is an incredible pianist.
Creatively I’m much more in-tune with myself than I was a few years ago; it’s far easier for me to get my feelings out now which is so relieving. I can almost dream about what I want something to sound like now, I feel like a designer and I curate my ideas clearly. I didn’t come from music; I started as a visual artist.
I never talk about chords, I can’t read music or anything – I taught myself piano when I was 18. When I got my first laptop, when I was 12, a friend gave me fruity loops and I started making beats. When I began I think I was trying to sound like 50 cent or something.
You had a busy summer schedule – what were some of the high points?
‘We Out Here’ festival was really cool; I received really great receptions all-round this summer, during festival season. ‘Blue Dot’ festival was also really fun, I was on the orbit stage and it was really special to be a part of such a great line up. I got to see 808 State who were just amazing. It’s looking like a really busy upcoming in 2020 for me and I have a lot of artistic projects I’m working on outside of my music. I used to create light installations at University alongside my show; I want to create more installations separate from my shows for people to come and experience.
