This Is Not The Album
It’s the weekend and everybody loves a good to-be-played-too-loudly-and-possibly-annoy-neighbours playlist. Now, this album isn’t a new find, but it’s definitely one I have kept coming back to since my friend Adam introduced me to it, and have plagued everyone I know to listen to.
It’s the This Is Not The Album EP by Ghanaian musician Jane Fara Fauzzier Afia Boafowaa Yahaya Awindor; we thank the Lord her stage name, Efya, and instagram handle @efya_nokturnal are much less of a mouthful. Her style of music currently is classed as neo soul; but when she first emerged on the Ghanaian music scene was a part of a pop-y duo called Irene and Jane. The group broke up over time, and Efya, then Jane, rebranded herself as the sassy jazzy goddess she is today.
The EP is a collection of some of her hit singles, covers which simply obliterate the original songs, and hauntingly beautifully vocalized originals. The EP was released as a precursor to her studio debut album ‘Love Genesis’. Now, if this EP is what she released just to generate hype, I am beyond giddy for what the actual album will be. She explores the topic of love in her music, delving into the intensity, infidelity and romanticism associated with it in lyrics which seamlessly mix English, Pidgin English (a Nigerian influenced hybrid of sorts of Twi and English), and Twi, a local Ghanaian language as well as Yoruba (A Nigerian language) for some songs.
Her sound ranges from mellow and intense as in her coverof Duncan Mighty’s ‘Obianuju’ (my favourite song on the EP to sassy and upbeat as with the aptly named ‘Sexy Sassy Wahala’ (my second favorite song on the EP. She features some of her crowd favorites- Best In Me and Little Things on the album as well, and while I do prefer the previously unreleased songs, they make for very good listening.
Her voice commands the music and dominates your attention in such a striking way that you keep listening to it again just to go, ‘Well, damn.’
It’s no surprise at all that she has won several awards and performed for adoring audiences in Ghana and around the world.
This is the perfect collection of songs to go through your weekend listening to and pondering over, because even if you don’t understand all the lyrics, it will make you just sit and think about the more difficult questions in life. I’ll link the songs on the album down below, and am really glad to be able to share my favorite Ghanaian musician with you all. I’ll also link some of the singles of the new album. *you’re welcome*
Comment to let me let me know what you think about it.
Obianuju Cover (Falou) Weather for two
You can click here to get it on Itunes
Peace, love and funk,
Amoafoa
*All images are from her website
