Explosive Afrobeats and smooth vocals present an instantly confident and captivating realm, as Afro-Soul pioneer JaneliaSoul delivers the colourful and uplifting How It Started.
Instantly unique for its multi-layered organic set-up – this world music fusion of hand rhythms, shakers, keys, synths and vocals – there’s a likable fullness and contrastingly intimate recording style to How It Started. What’s more, we quickly move from what feels like a freestyle performance to a clearly structured and relevant lyrical hook.
The concept of How It Started follows the popular meme of the same name (‘How it started / How it’s going’), but does so with subtlety and heart. All of a sudden we’re immersed in this natural world music and rhythmic arena of sound, guided by the call and response vocals of JaneliaSoul – an unmistakable and soulful vocalist. Before long, the natural earworm of the hook settles into the subconscious indefinitely.
Featuring quirky twists of production and unexpected rhythmic and guitar-led hits, How It Started is incredibly unique by nature, but also feels effectively relevant and quite timeless in its melody, ideas and overall arrangement. The song is creatively fresh, but the bare bones that made it are engaging and on point in terms of what connects with a broader audience.
JaneliaSoul is a Nigerian-American artist, driving with an unlimited array of influences from Soul and Jazz to traditional Yoruba Folk. Her seven-piece band is currently making waves across the live venues of Baltimore, Maryland, and with the sound of indie gems like How It Started, that comes as no surprise at all. Well-worth knowing about.
Find JaneliaSoul on Instagram & her Website.
