Special features of album include a fusion of soul, jazz, highlife, gospel and traditional African folk rhythms which venture deeper into the classical African 6/8, polyrhythmic groove.
Another element in this story is Gritty ‘ol Charm City (or Harm City, as it is more affectionately known), Baltimore, which formed the backdrop for most of the album’s recording and gave Siji a “proper glimpse into inner-city American life. Locked away for months on end, Siji was able to tap into something he had only glimpsed on Television shows like ‘The Wire’. Completing the album and needing to change his environment, Siji sought the warmth of San Francisco and after a brief respite returned to the East Coast.
According to the artiste, his self-titled sophomore album ‘ADESIJI’ is a full portrayal of where he currently stands as an artiste and human being and the experiences that have come to shape his character. “A few of the songs,” he says, “are about the current war, the environment, my yearning to take a closer peek at my ancestral homeland (Nigeria), where I grew up in as well as the spiritual side of my roots.”
The second of twelve children to Nigerian émigrés in London, Siji spent much of his early childhood in Lagos and London before coming to the US to further pursue his musical ambitions. His own cultural heritage combined with the political and social movements of the age, exposed young Siji to the insurgent, politicised music of Afrobeat legends Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Tony Allen as well as the soulful grooves of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Otis Redding.
