29.07.2018 / Estivale Open Air
Show information
http://www.ayomusic.com/Venue
Estivale Open Airhttp://www.estivale.ch
Tickets :
https://etickets.infomaniak.com
Allow me to (re) introduce myself.
My name is Ayo, which simply means Joy in the Yoruba language. I am a singer-songwriter, musician, producer, actress and a mother of three. In the past, there have been many biographies written about me but never have I thought about writing it myself one day, so here it is! :)
It has always been difficult for me to talk about my life and how everything started because if life was like a train ride from Cologne, where I was born in the 80's, to Brooklyn NY, where I'm currently based, you can only imagine how hard it would be to remember every single stop, certainly if the ride is on one of those slow trains. Today, I don't think I want to talk as much about my past anymore but rather about my present and hopefully future.
12 years ago, I could've never imagined that I'd find myself here one day and when I say “here” I do not mean Brooklyn NY. “Here” to me means the release of my 5th record. Who would've seriously thought that Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, the weird little girl with kinky hair, a chipped tooth and a funny smile would one day become a double platinum singer-songwriter. I’ll never forget the day I received my first golden record. It was September 14, 2006 in Paris, France. The day I turned 26.
I cried cause all I could think about was the many stops on that slow train ride and the many moments where I just wanted to get off the train because it seemed like I wasn't really going anywhere. It was in Paris where I've experienced magic for the first time in my life because for the first time in my life, I finally had an audience.
The fact that people were actually listening to the songs I'd play on my guitar touched me so deeply and gave me a whole new confidence. Here in Paris, I felt like I belonged for the first time ever. I could barely speak French and I didn't understand it either but I felt a strong connection with my audience. I felt loved and understood and most of all, I felt like I wasn't being judged. The years that I've spent in my early childhood in foster care and foster family always made me feel a certain kind of way. I always felt like there was no place for me because the only place that I wanted to be, which was with my parents, wasn't an option at that time. I always knew that I was a loved child, don't get me wrong because I felt loved by my Mum and my Dad and understood that it wasn't easy, but I did feel like people were looking at me a certain kind of way, a judgmental kind of way. My parents gave me so much more than love. I believe they unknowingly gave my life a new purpose, Music. Fame has never been a motivation for me to write a song or play music.
It has always been Life itself that motivated me the most. When I learned that the story of my Song wasn't only my story but many other people's story, I felt an importance in exchanging my thoughts and feelings with my audience because it felt like it was the only way to heal and so I opened up more and more and was able to write about my life and life in general. I've always traveled a lot, have lived here and there and I don't know if I'll stay in NY but I do know that it is important to just live life sometimes. I've made so many mistakes in my career as an Artist that I've become very frustrated and sad at times and just didn't know how to handle things. I was stuck in a huge mess that I created myself and felt like I had to take a pause. So in a way, I believe Brooklyn has given me that pause I've needed as an Artist and as a mother. I've decided to leave my old record label Universal France after 10 years to sign a new license deal with Believe records, who totally supports me and believes in me not only as a singer songwriter but as well as a producer.
I felt free. Free to go and do whatever I wanted to do, so I set up a studio in my bedroom and started to record not only on my laptop but even on my phone. :) I hope I don't come across arrogant when I say that I am very proud of the outcome. I hope that you'll get a chance to listen to it and that it will touch you and do as much for your heart and Soul as it did for mine. If you feel like you don't only want to be touched but entertained as well, then you should come to one of my shows these days! :)
Love and light,
Ayo
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