every other day i organize - the long-awaited asake thread

no particular reason to start this thread except that asake is the absolute greatest and the titular line has been running through my head.

new song with olamide is called "amapiano" but sounds more like his usual thing with a log drum added than an actual amapiano song. still good tho!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_-v1fNdSHs

he performed at afro nation miami over the weekend, seems like he's got the good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ezklJrHTQ

*goods

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCep7O2YcOc

and another new one with olamide today. feels like he can just get endless mileage out of this sound

Have felt slightly underwhelmed by the new tunes since the album but Amapiano is a banger.

okay, New Religion is it, too.

New album isn't a continuous mix like the debut, and is less overwhelming. But it's so good.

he manages to get a lot of variety out of his sound on this one, another great album

Love the continued use of spiritualitet bossa nova choruses. The only thing I’m missing is New Religion but I guess Olamide wanted it for himself.

Spirutal not spiritualitet urgh

listened to this three times in a row yesterday, so great

anyone have further thoughts on this album? i'm trying to understand my ambivalence toward him when ppl are so passionate about his music. i don't even dislike it, i just have a hard time connecting to it. i thought this album was cool when i listened to it but i don't have much context for its quality in relation to his previous music, which i also understood on the surface level intellectually, like why it's considered groundbreaking/influential, but not necessarily why ppl think it's good per se. i am rooting for him tho he seems cool

Writer Kim for Pitchfork loves Asake. I enjoyed it but am not yet with this degree of enthusiasm

For @pitchfork I wrote about @asakemusik’s new album Work of Art, which is phenomenal. Asake’s one of the best artists right now, just the most unimpeachable in the Afropiano / Street Pop zone rn. He had the best Nigerian pop album of 2022 and now 2023!!https://t.co/QSQ3CdmBGe

— Joshua Minsoo Kim (@misterminsoo) June 16, 2023

anyone have further thoughts on this album? i'm trying to understand my ambivalence toward him when ppl are so passionate about his music. i don't even dislike it, i just have a hard time connecting to it. i thought this album was cool when i listened to it but i don't have much context for its quality in relation to his previous music, which i also understood on the surface level intellectually, like why it's considered groundbreaking/influential, but not necessarily why ppl think it's good per se. i am rooting for him tho he seems cool

― J0rdan S., Thursday, June 22, 2023 2:20 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

a good question, it's an instinctual thing for me. he is just a great bandleader. the arrangements are uniformly fantastic, across both albums. i find his use of group vocals and violins very tasteful, and at times, incredibly moving.

i tried typing a longer response, but wound up resorting to the intellectual stuff that i'm sure you already understand: bite-sized amapiano jams with sweeping naija pop choruses, taking elements from both of africa's dominant genres to fill in the pieces missing from each (faster tempos, clubbier beats for afropop, sweeping choruses and tight songwriting for amapiano)

It’s equal parts fun, catchy and spiritual.

New album out on friday. First two singles feature Travis Scott and Central Cee and I'm not entirely convinced. Hope that it's a dance record to rival HEIS.

And it’s INCREDIBLE. He’s easily three for three now. Wow.

i hadn't heard the travis track yet and dug that one way more than i expected to. the wizkid collab is very much in made in lagos land, which is cool. my favorite moments are the house-ier ones that borrow from south african 3-step (like "worldwide")

intriguing, I found the last one to be a dull retread, but if his sound has changed at all I could get excited

the back third is excellent (took a minute but i did warm up to the mary j blige sampling one)

this album has definitely has broadened his sound but i'm not really sure if it's for the better

i really like this album. i’ve always admired asake more than i’ve loved his music, so maybe i’m a negative indicator. but the production is constantly surprising and rewarding to me

is it crazy to say that this album feels a lot like his rave & roses? both the scope of the album from a production POV and the sumptuousness of the production took my mind there, esp the first half. there is always a distinct asake-ness but it feels like he’s leaning into soft, rich, lush here — as rema himself kinda doubles back and strips all of that way, burrowing back into a really hard edged club friendly sound. kinda interesting to me

also feel a lot of burna’s influence here too, first album specifically as well as the sorta riff on “last last” at the end. i don’t wanna be too on the nose with it but the very loving ‘made in lagos’ homage at the beginning makes me wonder if some of this is intentional, showing his love by showing some of his work. i will say tho that “MMS” feels so natural & lived in to me that it transcends some of the other ‘made in lagos’ karaoke that is out there, including a lot of it from wiz himself! it’s just a great production overall

curious if anyone else is excited by this album or if i’m out on an island here

I don't dislike it, but I felt that he was more unique before, and yeah, now he sounds a lot more like Rema, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, Tems, and all the rest. It's a very good album, but the debut still towers over everything else of his. But that one might be my AOTD so it's okay :)

I honestly feel like this is the one. His first album is hard to beat but this is the one where he branches out into new sounds while keeping it 100% Asake.

“MMS” is honestly just flat out amazing

i finally had my first listen to somme of the new album yesterday and i honestly felt like i was being baited for the first half dozen tracks. and that's ok etc

The sense of progression across the album is so satisfying, starting off smooth and lush and gradually getting more urgent and hectic - which makes that rising sense of urgency feel more serious (in a good way) when it does arrive, e.g. the rippling log drums on “Wave”.