Nigerian-born, North Carolina-raised musician Uwade is thrilled to announce her debut album, Florilegium, which will be released April 25th through Ehiose Records / Thirty Tigers. The artist, who grew up steeped in the sounds of hymnal choral music and Nigerian Highlife on her dad’s car radio, later studied Classics at Columbia and Oxford, informing her work with astonishing originality and depth. The album is preceded by the single “Call It A Draw,” a video for which TKTK. Pre-order Florilegium here.
“Over the past few years I’ve been trying to experiment with my songwriting process a bit more, and this song is one of the fruits of that exploration,” Uwade says. “‘Call It A Draw’ started with a drum loop, a chord progression, and a feeling of restlessness. The creation process was pure, playful, and visceral, relying less on structure and more on improvisation. This approach was really freeing and reflects the sense of release that I feel is central to the project as a whole.”
Indeed, over the past few years it seems Uwade has been everywhere, quietly. Her emotive voice is what opens Fleet Foxes’ Grammy-nominated album, Shore; from there she’s gone on to tour extensively in support of the band, along with opening for R&B and indie stalwarts like Jamila Woods, Sylvan Esso, The Strokes and more. Her solo output has included a handful of singles, like the buoyant “Do You See the Light Around Me?” and the more somber “The Man Who Sees Tomorrow.” But now, finally, comes a full-length entirely her own, a shimmering anthology that finds sweetness and light in sorrow, an amalgamation of disparate influences and recording sessions seamlessly fitting together through her expressive, expansive voice.
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