Asa
Over the years her father had built up a fine collection of records featuring
soul classics and Nigerian music. The little girl grew up to the sounds of
artists including Marvin Gaye, Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, Sunny
Ade, Ebenezer Obey and Lagbaja and went on to draw inspiration from them.
"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." Asa 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. 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."
