It wasn’t nerves or
anything, but for the first time in a while I wasn’t sure what I’d say after
the show…walking up to a performer, away from the stage.
TundeOlaniran is just an outstanding presence and not merely because of his
elaborate costumes. The young artist is certainly approachable, don’t get me
wrong, and quite affable in demeanor when he’s down at ground level. But up
there on a stage, under boomlights and amplified with soundsystems, he’s
something refreshingly strange and transcendent, akin to traditional ideas of
an iconic pop star similar to, yes, Madonna (a key influence upon the
Flint-raised artist). This is classy showmanship reimagined to zazz some vigor
back into the post-apocalyptic-youths yawning through this post-Internet-era;
an out-of-this-world play or surreal opera, swirled with flavors of 80’s
dance-pop, neo-techno caustics, R&B balladry and almost rapper-esque
reeling of compressed, declarative lyrics.
Tunde’s musical style (or genre) goes all over the place, ...but then – that’s exactly “where” this singer grew
up – from Nigeria, to England to Flint, MI. The young Tunde listened to
Madonna’s Immaculate
Conception repeatedly as a
kid living in Germany. “I wasn’t quite old enough, then, to be finding things
for myself yet,” says Olaniran, “and anything we bought that was
English-language was through the store at the Army base nearby, filtered
through this very narrow-viewed American culture. But somehow I got Madonna on
cassette and I remember thinking: this is just an artist’s regular album, I
didn’t know it was a Greatest Hits…”
“Being
on my own and so young and dancing around, jumping around and playing out music
videos and performances in my mind, like, ‘We’re gonna put on a show for you!’
I spent a lot of time by myself, growing up, pretending to be in certain
moments and really having a vivid imagination, in my own world.”
In
Tunde’s mind, in his own world, the creative landscape is always varying. His
debut solo album has the telling title: Infinite
Modulation.
“I
know a lot of people probably have that same kind of experience as a kid, but
having this rich imagination in my life and being alone a lot and doing music
on my own, without a lot of external input as to what I should or shouldn’t be listening to…”
This
assured not just a wild, wonderful vision and a diligent pushing of envelopes
(in terms of what’s capable in presenting a live performance) but also a resolve
– When inspiration strikes Tunde, it’s something like the Star Trek Genesis
Device – terraforming the vision into full-fledged life, a new planet of pop, with a staggering swiftness and
surety. He knows what he wants – and it’s often something you’ve never seen (or
heard) before, so just let him bring it.
Piercing
gaze, swooning vocals, and a commitment to choreographed dances, surreal
set-pieces and ostentatious costumes – Olaniran shuffles through metallic
techno-beats, spacey synth-loops, even some raw guitar riffs. It’s stokes some
primal ceremony vibe with its riling rhythms but then jettisons to futuristic
soundscapes with its more electronic elements. His voice, as soulful as
something from the 60’s studios of legend and as anthemically arching and
poignant as something from the 80’s pop paradises, is the bridge between, the
eye of the storm, the thing that soars above all the varying modulations of his
music (and his performance).
“I
think I’m kind of a mimicker, actually,” he admits. “I would mimic anything,
accents I heard, different characters in movies. I was in some choirs in school
but never the one at Regionals. I was never the star. I became a good singer
because I was always around really amazing singers through that choir. It
wasn’t until I got into a really fun, funny rock band and sung for hours a
night in bars, doing covers and just having that experience of being a lead
singer …that, that was when I finally started just singing all the time and
ended up getting a stronger voice. So, it was mimicking, and then bootcamp
style, through choir and then a punk band. That got me whatever vocal
experience I can claim to have…”
Olaniran
thinks some listeners might not immediately realize the sizable influence up
punk, metal and rock, upon his musical creations. His first band members
exposed him to classic hard-rock and punk – from Sabbath, to Priest, to Fugazi
(even though he complained, initially, on those long car rides on tour).
“I get into phrasing, intonation.. just the character that
certain voices and accents have on a track. And above all else, I love a killer
synth!”
“Maybe
it’s to my detriment, but I don’t set out to make a certain genre. It all
usually flows back to the same well. Honestly, if the music is completely mine,
and not as a feature for someone else, I only make music that I can imagine
performing. I will be listening to the track and imagining how I’ll move
onstage and what the choreography will look like.”
But
the goal is to make it memorable. I also want to make something that
sounds a tad different than anything else but is still memorable in some way
Olaniran
said some show attendees have described experiencing his live presentation as
“spiritual.”
“Or…that
they felt I was drawing from a deep ancestral well! Basically, if people are
feeling themselves during my set, that’s the best encouragement. If they
somehow feel sexier, more powerful, more connected, more dangers, that’s what I
want…”
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