Wednesday, December 14, 2011

PETER-BEN FEMI ANIFALAJE REVIEWS BABA'S LOVE

Hello Friends,
So I just released a single off my 'Finally' EP scheduled to be out in January of 2012 (just round the corner). It's an inspirational project with songs that have a soulful, African and contemporary edge to it. The single out now is tagged 'Baba's Love' .I obviously (hands on face :)) can't review myself so I was glad when my colleague in the industry, a blatantly honest music reviewer and producer, London's Peter-Ben Femi Anifalaje  decided to pick it up. Was I nervous? Naaaaaaaaaaaa :)
So here's what Femi has to say about Baba's Love, wanna share with y'all-
From the very first lead guitar solo and Tosinger's voice eventually coming in on Baba's Love, your mind races back to the 80s vocals of Shade Adu, Tina Turner, Mandy Brown Ojugbana and the likes, to African music, to ethereal musical pads and to Middle Eastern themes but as soon as the song moves along, you realize this is a different song from your initial pre-conceptions.

After the initial chants of Baba O (which sounds rather oddly Americanized) on the vamp over guitar chords and horn stabs, the vamp talks about the magnitude of the Father's love and how much the singer is overwhelmed by it. This leads into the first verse and you kind of get the place where Tosinger is coming from.

Baba's Love is simply a song about God's love and the verses tell the narrative very well with the music complementing. Regular injections of stabs, flutes, lead guitar solos, horn licks and more complement the narrative beautifully. It points you back to all that God does and how it stems from His love for us.

The chorus introduces a twist to the musical arrangement and takes you back to Africa. Infact, the melody is quite nostalgic. I am not sure if it's a song I already know but you kinda feel like that and want to sing along (if you understand what exactly is being said i.e "Titilai ni o ma yin o"-> "I will praise you forever"). It's pure dejavu.

The vamp comes in again (and the Baba chants feels less odd this time around. Maybe I have just been sucked into the song) The second verse mirrors the first but tells more of the narrative and brings a far more personal perspective to her relationship with the Father.This leads again to the amazingly nostalgic chorus.

One thing is I wish the chorus (sang in the Yoruba Language) was done many more times than it was done and given a sense of climax, maybe some modulations or some key changes and Tosinger's voice sounding much bigger at this point or riding over bigger (inverted) BGVs (background vocals). The song keeps sucking you in and you want more but it leaves you hanging.

Overall, Baba's Love by Tosinger is an amazing song. One that should get you into that praise mood. The chorus is definitely one that will stay with me for a long time.

Enjoy Baba's Love . Thanks

Baba's Love ~ Tosinger by Tosinger

More about Femi - http://www.wix.com/strangehouse/PFAnifalaje