Sonia Aimy - Nigerian Spirit (2017)

With her inimitable, velvety voice, Nigerian-born singer, songwriter and actress Sonia Aimy is the quintessential embodiment of contemporary African world music. Her sound blends Afro-jazz, highlife, and call-and-response African griot tradition, in easy flowing, yet virtuosic performances. Her irresistible rhythms and melody and infectious joie de vivre unite audiences of diverse backgrounds. Her second CD, Nigerian Spirit 2017, is an incantation of hope. It offers spiritual nourishment and intellectual stimulation, and is a joy to the senses.

Sonia Aimy has won fans in Europe, Africa and Canada through her on stage appearances with the likes of African musical legends Hugh Masekela, the Mahotella Queens, Miriam Makeba, IGNAWA and Williams Parker. Fluent in English, Italian and several African tongues, Aimy grew up speaking the local Edo language of her native Benin City in southern Nigeria. Through her music, she also explores Yoruba and Hausa (both from Nigeria); as well as Obamba (Gabon), Wolof (Senegal), Lingala (Congo), Kiswahili (East Africa) and Somali.

It has been Aimy’s passion since she started singing at age eleven to touch hearts and souls. From her mother, she gained an early education in the folklore of her people, the Bini, an interest she extended into traditional music, storytelling and dance. Immigrating to Italy, she studied jazz music and interpretation, as well as theatre arts, crafting a sound that has become distinctly her own. Motherhood is an important theme that often appears in her lyrics, along with a deep concern for justice.

Sonia Aimy has also been recognized in Italy and Nigeria not only for her obvious talent but also for her commitment to end human trafficking, and for the deep sense of her Nigerian heritage, which gives a spiritual grounding to her work wherever she performs. For her many endeavors, Aimy was chosen Best Positive Figure for Youths in Turin and Caserta (2005/2006); was named a Millennium Models Nominee among fifty Nigerians in the world by Nigeria’s Platinum Bank Limited in 2003; and in 2005 was nominated by Italy’s AfroLife magazine as one of the Top Ten leading Nigerians in that country.

TRACKLIST

01. Light My Way Mother
02. Chotima
03. Nigerian Spirit
04. Voices of Orisa
05. Dreaming
06. A Dream for Somaliya
07. Ase
08. Lampedusa
09. Husband in Canada
10. Ase Radio Edit
11. Nigerian Spirit Radio Edit