Singer/songwriter, actress, and humanitarian Sonia Aimy grabs audiences hands and ushers them on a deep dive through her childhood roots and straight into her soul in this, her new album and single of the same name, Reconnect — available now.
Offering introspective and intimate glimpses into her creative heart, Reconnect exudes Sonia Aimy’s signature dynamic sound — a blend of afro-jazz, afrobeat, highlife, and elements of the African griot call-and-response tradition “in a string of easy flowing, yet virtuosic performances.”
The release is a reflection of the Nigerian-born and Toronto-based multi-talented artist’s recent sentiments around feeling overwhelmingly stuck, having constantly been on the move, touring the world to spread her influence and creativity.
“I cried,” she reveals of being forced to suddenly slow down, and feeling grounded — in a very literal sense. “I thought about so many things.
“But then, something happened… I began to feel a new connection to myself; I began to really dream about my past, about my childhood growing up with my mother in Nigeria, or about when I moved to Italy. So many things I’d not reflected on in the mad rush. I began to see my life in a sort of rewind that I’d not seen before.
“And that’s when the music and the words began to flow…”
These quarantine-facilitated reflections and self-realizations prompted Aimy to bury herself in the words and music that flowed through her during this reunification. Finely tuned and rooted in a rediscovery of her creative passion, Reconnect calls upon that desire to align oneself with “the festive, multicultural spirit felt when the various ethnic and religious groups of Nigeria come together in celebration.”
Inspired by traditional rhythms, “Reconnect” offers a seamless afrobeat groove. “‘Reconnect’ is a celebratory song of cultural heritage, as represented by traditional ruler kings who play significant roles in preserving traditions,” she explains. “I imagine myself someday in Africa, with my Caribbean brothers and sisters, and all members of the African diaspora reconnecting through music that resonates with culture and traditions that have been preserved.”
Sonia Aimy’s collective life experiences and travels fuse with her childhood roots to create the unique and cultural masterpiece that is “Reconnect,” and inevitably, the Reconnect album. Aimy’s work is interwoven with unpretentious altruistic double entendres, looking back on not only the global pandemic that led to the creation of her new album but also the much-needed self-love and self-care that we owe ourselves as human beings.
Sonia Aimy captures this sentiment perfectly: “What at first seemed like a completely negative experience forced me to pause, and allowed me to reflect and be grateful for being alive, to reconnect to myself musically, and to understand people from the outside as well.
“You find yourself in this situation, but you can also utilize the situation to benefit yourself and others.”
Reconnect is available now.
