Essay on Simi's 'Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1': Pop, Afro-Fusion, Dancehall & More!

Introduction

Simi's third studio album Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1, was released in 2019 on the day of her birthday and slotted after "Ogaju" in 2008 and " HYPERLINK "https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simisola_(album)" \t "_blank" Simisola" in 2017. Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 which directly translates to the daughter of Charlie Champagne or my father's daughter features a number of music genres like pop, afro-fusion, dancehall, R&B, and afro-pop, each of which adds flavor and makes the album a wonder to listen to (Kim et al., 2013). Promotion of the album was done by three singles, namely, Mind Your Business, I Dun Care, and Jericho. It goes without mention, that the entire album, as alluded in the beautiful title, is a dedication to her late father, Engr. Charles Oladele Ogunleye who passed on in 2014. Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 even opens up with the track Charlie, Simi's heartfelt letter to her father. There is a total of 13 songs, each different from the next, garnering Simi the well-earned title of being flexible and adaptable to different genres of music all across the world.

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Sound, Feel and Production

Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 opens with the track Charlie who is dunked in a soft pinging piano instrumental. The mood is already set for Simi to venerate and remember her father as she sees fit, and her smooth voice does not disappoint as she sings as recounts her love and the weight of her loss at losing him. It is clear that Charlie truly did inspire this album (Koelsch, 2011). The feel in Charlie is also prevalent in the eleventh track like Please even though Please tackles a different subject matter entirely.

As aforementioned, the 13 songs in this album span from afro-pop, afro-fusion, folk, EDM, Ballad, and R&B. Despite such a huge number of genres crumpled into one package, the album still manages to maintain a mellow feel, which lays a perfect canvas for Simi to tackle her issues like love, brightness, positivity, and loss (Kim et al., 2013). The sounds of Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 are a far cry from those in Simisola, but Simi still maintains the originality and uniqueness that made Simisola the success it was. The feel of her last album acts as the foundation for Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1, and this is not necessarily a bad thing as the vibes in Simisola were delightful and compelling to listen to (Burgess, 2013). Songs like By You and Mind Your Business have the same melodic feel as Smile For Joromi and Me respectfully.

Such comparisons aside, Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 features a hefty amount of sonic experimentation and creativity from both Simi and her featured artists. Falz, for example, meshes his well-tuned pidgin lyrics and voice with Simi's Yoruba pop voice in Mind Your Business. The track Immortal, an EDM/Moombahton track is fresh yet still maintains the sound Simi is well known for. The song plays beautifully, with kicks and percussion that carries the music's melody and chord-work (Burgess, 2013). This, in itself, is the definition of artistic diversity and non-conformity at its best. A close listen to Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 clearly shows that Simi has evolved as a singer and is daring to delve into the unchartered ground.

Themes, Subject Matter and Songwriting

Famous for her close attention to detail and execution, Simi is a goddess when it comes to penning her tracks. Her imagination and creative conformity always show in her lyrics. Her choice of words, sentences, and stanzas could easily be compared to world greats like Beyonce, Adele, and Rihanna. The subject matter of Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 delves deep into human emotion and thought, from happiness on Ayo to themes of immense loss on Charlie, sex on Immortal, love, and affection on love Is Love and By You and loyalty on Jericho (Kim et al., 2013). Simi even talks gossip on Mind Your Business; her break up experience on Move On and her fears on Please.

Her diversity well matches simi diversity in song genre in choosing her themes and topics. Her consistency in maintaining the listener's interest through the album is uncanny and commendable (Koelsch, 2011). Songs like Mind Your Bizness are hits that are applicable to everyday life regardless of someone's background. These tracks are applicable to almost all imaginable human experiences.

Cohesion and Track List

The diversity of Omo Charlie Champagne Vol. 1 is more than its tracklist. It goes deeper into the tracks themselves; the subject matter is varied. Simi marries her form and content by maintaining her Yoruba feel throughout the album (Burgess, 2013). The different features of the album come together rather beautifully because of her as a unique singer. The tracklist is carefully arranged in the form of a soothing emotional roller-coaster. The different styles of music are piled atop each other gracefully, promoting an easy song-to-song transcendence. To a keen listener, the entire album is an anthology of connected stories, and some stories span an entire three songs, for example, the chronologically placed Move On, Love On Me, and Mind Your Busines.

Conclusion

The album's vocal style, which is enticing and original, is prevalent throughout the different genres. This consistency is brought out by Simi's compelling Yoruba accent, which complements the instrumentals of each different song. The compelling subject matter is relatable, and Simi's production abilities have accorded her the avenue to birth a musical gem.

References

Burgess, R. J. (2013). The art of music production: the theory and practice. Oxford University Press.

Kim, Y. E., Schmidt, E. M., Migneco, R., Morton, B. G., Richardson, P., Scott, J., ... & Turnbull, D. (2010, August). Music emotion recognition: A state of the art review. In Proc. ismir (Vol. 86, pp. 937-952).

Koelsch, S. (2011). Toward a neural basis of music perception-a review and updated model. Frontiers in psychology, 2, 110.