Every week on KAXE/KBXE, we dig into a new release as our Album of the Week. Sometimes we hear from a musician we all know and love, sometimes it's an album I think will challenge our beliefs about what a genre sounds like (or maybe just challenging in general!), sometimes it's a release so great that every single track should be heard, and sometimes, like this week, it's an introduction to a new musician.
This week's featured album is a debut release from a Netherlands musician, Nana Adjoa, called Big Dreaming Ants. Born to a Dutch mother and Ghanian father, Adjoa's roots inform her lyrics throughout. In her earlier years, she graduated from the prestigious Conservatorium van Amsterdam jazz program, but her intention was never to play jazz. She just wanted to be a great bass player.
Big Dreaming Ants discusses cultural identity (‘National Song’), friendship and insecurities (‘She’s Stronger’), love (‘In Lesser Light Pollution’), self-reflection (‘I Want To Change’), the veiled violence of social media (‘Throw Stones’), and channeling her roots (‘Love and Death’). Though written in 2019, some of the lyrics feel like the song was written yesterday.
Tune in all week to hear from our featured Album of the Week, Big Dreaming Ants, by Nana Adjoa.
Have you listened? We'd love to hear your comments on the release! Email comments@kaxe.org.
