Kerry-based Canadian singer Ndidi O has released her new album, It's About Time. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
The two-time Juno nominee artist’s music has featured on Orange Is the New Black, True Blood and Self Made.
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
It’s About Time was recorded at Monique Studios in Cork with Mick Flannery’s band.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I am Canadian of Nigerian/German descent, now a permanent Irish resident of County Kerry. I think Kerry is the most beautiful county in Ireland. Controversial, I know, but I love it so very much.
I am writing and producing an immersive theatre piece that is part trip hop opera, part monologue series about perimenopause, so I am also now a playwright.
That theme of time, womanhood and transition runs deeply through my new album, It’s About Time, which is out now.
How would you describe your music?
My music is a hybrid of folk, roots, blues and country, all anchored by my voice, which I am often told sounds like it might belong in another time period. On It’s About Time, I lean even further into that sense of reflection and the changes time brings for us all, especially women. The songs explore age, identity, power and change, including the single, Young One, which is about the stages of perimenopause and what it means to move through that transition as a woman. I hope listeners find the music truthful, warm and soothing, and something that resonates with the soul.
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Who are your musical inspirations?
If I am being incredibly honest, I do not have a lot of traditional musical inspirations. My inspirations often come from films and scores. So with that in mind, I am a fan of Kronos Quartet. I love what Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross do. They are currently favourite composers of mine.
On the songwriter front, I would probably say Enya, The Eurythmics, Sade and Björk inspire me. These artists created truly original works without being encumbered by expectation. They wrote honestly and all have singular voices. I love a vocalist and songwriter who has technical skill but also a unique, one of a kind sound. In today’s modern music world, that is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past.
I especially love what Björk and Rosalía have done together recently, including on their song Berghain. More of that fusion between women would be fantastic.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Oh wow. I was born in the 1970s, so trying to remember that is actually hard. I am very much into films though, and I can tell you the first movie I saw in a theatre. Does that count? It was E.T. and I completely lost it during the pivotal capture scene. I had to be taken out of the theatre because, spoilers, seeing E.T. trapped and experimented on broke my heart. It was my first understanding of how cruel humans could be, and it also made me aware of the kind of compassion I carry.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The first record I bought, well, it was not a record. It was a cassette tape, remember them? I had a Walkman, not a record player. I saved up all of my allowance and bought two in one day: Whitesnake’s Saints and Sinners and Sade’s Stronger Than Pride.
What’s your favourite song right now?
I hesitated on this, to be honest, as I do not like to put art into categories. I have a lot of songs I find myself listening to over and over, so I am going to give you five that I am listening to a lot right now: Human by Molly Sarlé, Everything I Love by Boga, Barracuda by Heart, TV Off by Kendrick Lamar, and Callaita by Bad Bunny. What Bad Bunny did at his recent halftime show in the States, amidst such cultural and political awakening in America, was fierce.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Wow, you are really hitting me with hard questions, as I find it difficult to pinpoint singularity when it comes to music. A favourite lyric written by someone else would have to be the classic Rage Against the Machine line: "Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses." It is succinct, honest and powerful.
A favourite lyric that I wrote is from a song called Ode to Death: "Let’s toast to misery, for you and I are done. We had ourselves one hell of a run." It encompasses so many different situations where you can say goodbye.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If I was trapped in a plastic dome like E.T. and only allowed to listen to one song for the rest of my time here, it would be Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Where can people find your music and more information?
You can find my music on all streaming platforms: Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Qobuz and Deezer under Ndidi O. You can also visit my website to find out where I will be playing live. I am also on Instagram @originalndidi.
Alan Corr
