Interview with Ola Onabule


Q: Your album In Emergency, Brake Silence is available for a few months now. How are the reactions from critics and fans so far?

Ola Onabule: Firstly may I say thank you to Dirk for asking me to do this interview. It's good to have you back on the scene. [thanks, Ola :-)]
In answer to your first question, I think it would be fair to say that reactions to 'IN EMERGENCY...' are the best they have been since my first album MORE SOUL THAN SENSE, almost ten years ago! The 'old' fans seem to be discovering new favourites and the new ones are attracted to older albums because of this one. The critics have been very kind to us in confirming almost unanimously that this is our finest work to date. It's a good time to be.

Q: Your new album will be released in continental Europe by ZYX, a label that on the one hand issues records by jazz labels like Fantasy and on the other hand throw-away dance trash. Please tell us how and why you've hooked up with them.

Ola Onabule: The album is actually licensed to Blue Cat for Germany, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg and will be distributed via ZYX. They have such expansive 'know how' and expertise regarding the European market in all aspects and genres of the biz. We are very excited about their involvement.

Q: Most people name an album after a particular song, but your album titles are always a little oblique like More Soul Than Sense, From Meaning Beyond Definition, Precious Libations For Silent Gods, Ambitions For Deeper Breadth, and now In Emergency, Break Silence. What's your motivation behind this and what's the meaning of these titles?

Ola Onabule: I love titles that draw you in, Make you curious and make you want to unravel the meaning behind the words. When I was a kid and just beginning to discover my songwriting abilities I was intrigued by artists that gave their albums titles like 'Dark Side Of The Moon' or 'Fulfillingness First Finale'. You knew these were flamboyant, expressive artistic souls who were obeying creative instincts rather than executive directives or focus groups. Each title is a statement of whom I think I am or what I feel at the completion of what is often a year of exhausting but meaningful work.

Q: Please tell me more about the creative process of writing songs and lyrics and recording them. What and which musicians inspire you?

Ola Onabule: Songs are born so simply. It's often a melody that won't leave me alone, or it's a catch-phrase that sneakily slips into my everyday usage. Often it can be a life altering experience or profound observation of who I am or what we all are and the consequences there of. Whatever the initial inspiration a song develops only when I start working out it's detail on my acoustic guitar, then roughly sketched ideas for lyrics follow. I take care to tell the songs story as truthfully as possible. If it works in this tried and tested format then I know that when I switch form guitar to my computer I won't lose my way and get distracted by the amazing tricks that can be performed with recording technology. Once I have a very simple backing track, I'll often go back to the lyrics one more time to make sure that my words are hitting home every-time and that they compliment my melody. Then I'll record a guide vocal and book my band in to record the real thing.
So many musicians inspire me from Instrumentalists like Richard Bona, Pat Metheny, and Herbie Hancock to Producers like Quincy Jones, Arif Mardin and Bob Clearmountain, to hybrid producer musicians like Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Prince, Steely Dan and Randy Newman. Singers whose voices really send me include Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Michael Macdonald and Donny Hathaway. I love to watch Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince and James Brown in concert.

Q: You are an independent artist for quite a long time now. And from what I've read so far you're very satisfied with it. What's your opinion regarding major labels and the crisis they claim to suffer from these days?

Ola Onabule: Being an independent artist is the long way round but it is deeply satisfying. I don't have teams of 'Yes' men to massage my ego (which I would love) or a shiny black limo with darkened windows to take me to every gig. However I write and perform what I want, the way I want. My band were chosen because they were the finest players as opposed to the finest lookers and most importantly our fans have stayed with us right from the beginning because what we do is honest, has integrity and is not dependent on marketing stoked hype. As a result our music has had a chance to develop and mature with time and practice. These things are almost impossible to achieve in the major record company model. Maybe the majors need to go back to the ideals that created the boom periods of the sixties and seventies to reinvigorate the trust that fans had in their artists and make music that's less disposable and more collectible... but alas its not my call!

Q: And talking about the music industry and a decline in sales rate for major labels. What's your opinion of file sharing? Do you think this is in the end more positive and will make people buy your albums?

Ola Onabule: Absolutely! I can't remember a time when people have not shared music, freely, ever! My parents told me that in their youth they'd go round to friends homes and make reel to reel recordings of records they couldn't afford to buy, My generation would make mix tapes on cassette to be swapped for others with friends. And just before the digital download era people would often (and still do) burn a CDR of various songs for friends. Mp3s are the modern digital age equivalent of the same sharing culture in my opinion. Unfortunately the phenomenon has coincided with a time when music is no longer at the center of youth culture and has become disposable. I believe that when people are deeply touched by art of any kind they want to own an original. In the case of music it's the time they commit to paying for the CD or they come to a gig, It's when they want to read the liner notes follow the lyrics. It's when they need to find out more about the artist, his story, his band and previous works. My personal opinion is that when popular music becomes an important part of our lives again people will want to OWN it and will be prepared to PAY for the privilege, then the freely downloadable mp3 will be seen for what it is: Simply a promotional tool.

Q: I really liked the two ballads Love Affair and Forgiven on In Emergency... have you ever thought of doing an album with slow tunes and a more classical (jazz) setting of piano, bass and drums?

Ola Onabule: Thank you. I am pleased that you liked those 2 songs. They were difficult to write as ballads can very easily sound cliched and I tried to avoid this. But having said that I am currently producing a project for a young but brilliant Jazz/soul singer (Polly Gibbons) with the set up you describe in your question and I am enjoying it so much that I may just embark on a similar approach for my next album...

Q: Since your album will be distrubuted by zyx, do you plan a tour to promote it in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg?

Q: We have also signed up to an agency called Agency 79 who specialize in getting artists to tour in those countries, so there is a good chance!
May I just say a huge thanks to all the good people around the globe who show us love and support simply because we sing to them.


For more infos visit olasmusic.com and read my review here.