Melding together the funky contemporary with the traditional--like
the talking drum--Sonia Aimy is dancing the steps of her ancestors in
her new title-track single and video, “Reconnect.”
Check
this out:
In the lyrics, Sonia
encourages Africans in the diaspora to reconnect to their
roots—through how they dress, through how they dance and move,
through proudly showing their heritage. She invokes the Ooni of Ife,
one of the most revered divine orishas in Yoruba traditions.
It’s serious, but it’s not a somber affair. The chanting cadence
and talking drum bring to mind the Lijadu Sisters, briefly, but Sonia
is forging her own lane, talking to a specific but growing audience of Africans who live abroad. She learns the dance steps and she’s passing them on.
“I imagine myself
someday in Africa, with my Caribbean brothers and sisters, and all
members of the African diaspora reconnecting through music that
resonates with culture and traditions that have been preserved,”
Sonia says via press release.
Sonia spent her
childhood in Nigeria before going to Italy to pursue a career in jazz
and theater, which led her eventually to her current home in Ontario.
The full album comes out Oct. 1 via Slammin Media.
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