Asa [Asha]

A young Nigerian singer by the name of Asa (pronounced Asha) is currently causing a stir with a debut eponymous album released on the French label Naïve. Asa’s subtle mix of soul, folk and pop, cleverly interwoven with her African roots, has already evoked comparisons with Tracy Chapman and Ayo. Those of you who’ve been getting into Ayo in recent months will love the sultry tones of Asa, another talented young singer-guitarist from Nigeria who is at her sublime vocal best solo.

A young Nigerian singer by the name of Asa (pronounced Asha) is currently causing a stir with a debut eponymous album released on the French label Naïve. Asa’s subtle mix of soul, folk and pop, cleverly interwoven with her African roots, has already evoked comparisons with Tracy Chapman and Ayo. Those of you who’ve been getting into Ayo in recent months will love the sultry tones of Asa, another talented young singer-guitarist from Nigeria who is at her sublime vocal best solo. Like Ayo, Asa grew up listening to her father’s record collection, soaking up the heady sounds of soul, reggae and folk-jazz via Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley and classics from the Gold Coast.

The budding young talent was later inspired by the likes of Macy Gray, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, but the artist young Asa has most frequently been compared to is the dreadlocked queen of Afro-folk, Tracy Chapman. Like Ayo and her American counterparts, Asa shares a certain taste for musical sophistication and ‘protest’ songwriting. And, like Ayo, Bukola Elemide - now better known by her stage name Asa ("falcon" in Yoruba) - made her debut signing to a French record label. Asa, currently using Paris as a springboard for a budding international career, was actually born in the French capital in September 1982 and spent just over two years there, her father working at the Nigerian embassy in Paris. "I kept all the photos and the memories my parents gave me and I vowed I’d go back to Paris one day!" she says. Twenty years on, Asa fulfilled that dream in style.

"At the beginning of 2004, I sent off a cassette to the ‘Visa’ programme run by the AFAA, the cultural section of the French foreign ministry. It was like throwing a bottle into the sea. But I was lucky because somehow I got my message heard." In fact, Asa did more than that. She ended up doing a music course in France which helped her turn professional and allowed her to stay in the country three months, during which precious time she met the likes of Manu Dibango, Richard Bona, Daby Touré, Tony Allen and sisterly double act Les Nubians. Profiting from her newly-acquired experience, Asa returned to Lagos and concentrated on developing her own musical style there.

At the beginning of 2007, the young singer went into the studio and spent six weeks recording with Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo, a blind multi-instrumentalist she has worked with for three years now. Her debut 11-track album is simply called Asa, "because all the songs on it are pieces of the puzzle that make up my personality." Featuring impeccable percussion, a funky Hammond organ, reggae-infused bass and contributions from celebrity flautist Magic Malik, Asa’s debut album contains two stand-out tracks: Jailer, a song about "the irony of oppression, not just political or racial oppression, but the kind that operates in everyday life" and Fire In The Mountain - a melody which has every bit as much chart-topping potential as anything by her Afro-folk sister Ayo! Asa (Naïve) 2007 Concerts 5 and 6 November at La Boule Noire, Paris User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..