Review Fix Exclusive: Tunde Olaniran Interview: Spirit of the Father

A mix of Celo Green and Kanye West, Tunde Olaniran is a young artist who is not afraid to step out of the box. With his second album “The First Transgression,” Olaniran mixes different genres to create a uniquely crafted sound; his uniqueness however goes far beyond his music.

“My dad’s culture named me.” Said Tunde, “My full name is Babatunde Bamadule Olaniran which means the spirit of the father is gone, but will return again to bring back the wealth that was promised to the family.”

Olaniran is of Nigerian descent and has lived in all corners of the world. At 13 he lived with his grandmother in a ghetto area of London. “It was dangerous, the elevator had urine up the wall- it was bad, but I had a lot of mental and emotional solitude and I feel like that worked for me creatively,” said Olaniran.

And while many artists would like nothing more than to entertain music lovers they themselves can have doubts about there fit in the bustling business.

“It’s been a slow process and even at this point I still have doubts, not about myself and my ability, but the probability and likelihood,” said Olaniran.

However, even with his doubts, Olaniran has already done some big things in his career. In the early stages of his career he fronted the rock band Taste This, where he got his first experience writing songs. “We wrote some amazing songs together and we are still great friends. The experience made me a strong song writer. And on my albums everything you hear me singing I’ve written and probably produced,” said Olaniran.

He has a lot to be proud of. one of the songs he wrote ‘Insationable’ found its way on the “Just Wright” soundtrack, a film starring Queen Latifiah and rapper Common.

Olaniran has been hard at work and after performing in front of thousands of people on a European Tour. He also made a stop in New York City’s, Webster Hall this past summer where he brought the house down.

“The crowd wasn’t huge, but it was good feedback,” said Olaniran. “I’ve done stuff in other places but this was the city where people see everything. And the fact that anyone was remotely impressed was amazing,” said Olaniran.

In addition to touring, Olaniran has already worked alongside and impressed some big names in the industry.

He once shared the stage with Syleena Johnson and the King of R&B R Kelly. “It was crazy to see him perform, the reaction the he created from the crowd was insane, girls screaming, crying, trembling, shaking, and having convulsions I mean everything,” said Olaniran.

R.Kelly was not the only Chicago native that got to see Olaniran rock the stage, Kanye West, who was on the panel of judges during the competition, gave Olaniran amazing feedback and props.

“I didn’t know who he was at first. So at the time it was like cool I got props, but now I definitely feel like it was a big deal, for the fact that he even thought it was good,” said Olaniran.

Olaniran released his first album Infinite modulation shortly after leaving Taste This. Olaniran mentions that the albums sound is a little of MIA, who he cites of one of his influences, along with a little of Jem. Unlike many other artists, Olaniran’s inspirations aren’t really centered around artists themselves. “I get more inspired from performances rather than any sound or singer.” He does however cite MIA, Lauryn Hill and Sara Vaughn as big inspirations.

And like MIA, Kanye and Ms. Hill, Olaniran has also come out with his own unique style, look and sound.

“I like to control things around me like music and performances- pretty much everything you see comes from me,” said Olaniran. “The album cover for the EP was my idea, and all the visual stuff is me. I don’t have a team of people I basically do everything myself.”

Olaniran, whose sound has been described by music critics as soulful, old school, catchy and uplifting, puts his unique sound in a category of its own. “It’s a little dance, electronic, and R&B somewhere in there. Definitely not slow jam R&B, but the sound of my voice tends to come off more soul sounding unless I’m screaming, but my sound falls somewhere between those categories.”

And that amazingly crafted sound is back again as Olaniran gears up to take his newest EP, “The First Transgression,” global.

Olaniran’s approach with this album was to have fewer songs on it, so that it the listeners could get more personal with the material.

“Albums with 12 or 15 tracks get lost, even the people get lost,” he says. “You can’t continue promoting it a year later. So for me I wanted to do something that was less pressure on me and gave people more time to know each song so I split a lot of the songs into small EPs.”

The leadoff single, “Cobra” has also done very well, for an independent artist like Olaniran.

“I heard this snare drum and there was something about it,” he said. “I just wanted to work with it. And then I saw a cobra and it all came together.” Tiger Balm another song on the EP is a dance track with meaning. “There is a time for peace, and a time to fight,” he said. “Being an independent artist people try to screw you over.”

Olaniran is also readying the music video for the next single “User Manual, “which he said made him fall in love with song.

In spite of his aspirations, Olaniran is still a newbie in the industry. Olaniran, himself feels like he still hasn’t reached to a point where he could walk away from it all.

“I don’t think my music has gotten enough of a chance to be exposed to as many people as it could be, said Olaniran. “If I had a negative experience after getting my music out then maybe I would think of another career, but from the positive feedback I’ve gotten it keeps me inspired to continue fighting.”

As the new year quickly approaches, Olaniran gears up to do a show on New Year’s Eve in Detroit. He’s ready to fight.
“I’m looking forward to the new year, planning out this east coast tour I’m really going to be doing my thing, so everybody needs to look out,” he said. “When you find something the you’re not only good at but you really enjoy and it fulfills you, that kind of seals the deal.”