The New Soul - An Ode to Sounds from Around the World, Third-Culture Kids and Seashells
Owelu Dreamhouse (both band and album) represents a return. For vocalist Nkechi Anele, a return to music following creative burnout. A return to Nigeria; as a third-culture kid, as an Igbo woman, as a daughter. The result is a soul landscape of cinematic sound, dripping with tape saturation and the honesty of a lifetime journey of growth, identity searching and a little bit of therapy.
Fuelled by Anele’s collection of West African, South American, neo-euro and 90s RnB records, Nic “Really-Grouse” Ryan-Glenie sets about building a musical diaspora which pays homage to every corner of the globe. From the lyrical-miracle 90s inspired Okra 4 Bilalli beat, which sees Naarm MC Bilalli spit just enough to have you wanting more, to Stutter, a Manu Dibango-esque embodiment of riffs that just keep going, the range of this project explains Nic’s own assertion that ‘it took a big ass village’ to complete the project.
Together the duo hold you in their arms as they take you from Kellen to Yellow Trumpet; the opener is an invitation to whimsically float, with some beautiful detective-movie funk pulling you through and propelling you into the journey that is Owelu Dreamhouse. The closing track is resolved; the searching energy and self-reflection of the project have landed, beds have been made, and the soft but persistent bass strum guides the listener to a conclusion (or new beginning).
A personal favourite, Realised, pays homage to traditional soul torch songs of the mid-20th century. Anele’s vocals are a perfect fit for the soft percussion accompaniment, and are paired nicely with a choir-esque refrain to complete the embodiment of a much-celebrated genre.
It is not without moments of space and reflection; sobering spoken word poetry interludes Daughters Always Listening I & II use seashells to link daughter and father across oceans, as the paradoxical paternal reproach that ‘phones go both ways’ is met with the realisation that ‘listening does not go both ways’. This is extrapolated as an older daughter grapples with the gendered nature of her treatment at the hands of men, and finally the acceptance of herself as a ‘perfect shell’ that resembles something new.
"When are we going to stop pretending that boys aren’t damaged by their upbringing" - Daughters Always Listening II
This album was made to be performed; to be scatted to with a live band, to be sat back and soaked in, to be researched and educated from. A pairing of worlds, an ode to the past and a backdrop for whatever comes next.
Owelu Dreamhouse brings smoky cabaret to Naarm in a way that both pushes the envelope and seems so, so classic.
Words by Orion Wheatland