Obongjayar
Some Nights I Dream Of Doors
September Recordings
Buy via Bandcamp | Listen Below
They say good things come to those who wait and Obongjayar’s debut album Some Nights I Dream Of Doors is a case in point. The Nigerian-UK artist has been releasing material for the last 7 or 8 years, but he has held back from releasing a full statement of intent until now.
Of course, during the intervening time he has featured on Danny Brown’s 2019 album U Know What I'm Sayin? and Little Simz’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (2021) among others. He also received an Ivor Novello award for his EP Which Way Is Forward? in 2021, so he’s clearly been honing and expanding his talents.
So, was it worth the wait? The answer is an unequivocal “yes” thanks to his willingness to experiment successfully in a number of different ways.
His voice is a constantly shifting tool that he utilizes in different ways across and within songs. The opening track “Try” opens with his delicate singing voice simply asking the listener to try their best to escape the grim realities that face them before a gruff, lower-registered voice picks up the reins to assert a more forceful, confident outlook on the move to change. This is set to a bubbling track that finds beauty in subtle keyboard lines and an atmosphere that threatens but tantalizingly never quite reaches euphoria.
But beyond the register and tone, he also uses a variety of accents. There is a sliding scale from cut-glass English accent to a broad and rich Nigerian-English accent which demonstrates his ability (and others’) to adapt and find spaces to thrive in, no matter the circumstances. Sometimes both appear on a song (such as “New Man”) and, in much the same way as the opener, the more confident, forthright lyrics “Go off, baby, show your color / This that new black shit” are delivered in the Nigerian accent, demonstrating where he sees his power and self-confidence residing.
The subject matter is also a source of constant change. “Message In A Hammer” is all agitated resistance to police brutality and corruption. To a pounding, powerful heartbeat he sings, “You can strip me, use me, abuse me till nothing remain / We won’t take it kindly, take it smiling” in a style that Fela Kuti would recognize and appreciate was descended from his musical acts of resistance.
The title track is a somber, Fender Rhodes led musing on the artist’s fears and despairs manifesting themselves in his dreams of escape. “Wrong For It” takes another personal turn alongside the sublime saxophone of Mercury nominated modern jazz giant Nubya Garcia.
If that all seems a little negative (though shot through with hope and desire to change the world and himself) then “I Wish It Was Me” is a heavenly piece of adoration with a sparse but warming hug of simple keyboard accompaniment. The same accompaniment makes “Wind Sailor” another charming piece that shows off the brittle beauty of Obongjayar’s voice.
The album is knitted together beautifully by the wonderful melodies, powerful lyrics and warm musicianship that Obongjayar and his co-writer Barney Lister have created to make an album that marks the full debut of an artist destined for great things.
Notable Tracks: “Message In A Hammer” | “Parasite” | “Some Nights I Dream Of Doors” | “Wrong For It”
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