Reconnect

Sonia Aimy sings, in her silky, melodious tones, ‘salaam alaikum.’ Set to gentle, chugging Afrobeat, the traditional Muslim greeting is a balm for the heart, and this recording by Nigerian-born Aimy – an Italy and Canada-based performer and singer – has an effortless largesse that helps make it a winner. With her background in theatre arts and jazz and side-hustle as a stage and screen actress, it’s no wonder Aimy has her delivery fine-tuned. Her phrasing, languorous then buoyant, has a knack for timing, a willingness to embrace space. Her voice is an instrument she wields with panache.

Reconnect is the product of a pandemic that forced us to slow down. Tunes reflect on life in Nigeria, where Aimy grew up practicing the folklore of her Edo/Bini people and singing songs that crossed faiths: the album’s title-track is both a celebration of the country’s multifarious ethnicities and the transformative power of self-examination. Opener ‘Live Nah Jeje’ describes the riches produced by taking a break; there are songs dedicated to women and mothers and on ‘Manaka – Kamala’, to American VP Kamala Harris. ‘Kolanut’ decries alt-right rhetoric in Italy. Musically, there’s highlife, Afro-jazz, but for the most part it’s Afrobeat – with the fury removed – that’s served up here. Think life contemplated gracefully, through an activist lense.