Toni Rossano
Fantastic stuff from Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II and co! Music just keeps on getting better and better. Been following for a little while and would love to hear a collaboration with someone like Samara Joy or Solange or Foushee to name a few! I'm sure his best is yet to come...
Favorite track: Monoxide feat. MonoNeon, MacKenzie & Peter Knudsen.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
£7GBP or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Black double vinyl album, featuring three bonus Instrumental versions of "No, No, No Pt. 2 feat. Jonathan Mones", "Actin’ Whyte" and "Monoxide feat. MonoNeon & Peter Knudsen"
A1. Water Suite (Thirst)
A2. Water Suite (Drown)
A3. Water Suite (Sanctuary)
A4. Water Suite (Renewal) feat. Michael Jelani Brooks
B1. Liberation
B2. No, No, No Pt. 2 feat. Jonathan Mones
B3. Actin’ Whyte feat. Kyle Rapps
C1. Exodus
C2. Proverbs
C3. Monoxide feat. MonoNeon, MacKenzie & Peter Knudsen
C4. Big Brother feat. Daniel Wytanis
(Bonus Tracks)
D1. No, No, No Pt. 2 feat. Jonathan Mones (Instrumental)
D2. Actin’ Whyte (Instrumental)
D3. Monoxide feat. MonoNeon, MacKenzie & Peter Knudsen (Instrumental)
Includes unlimited streaming of Liberation
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
“It sounds like Isaac Hayes and Steely Dan got together and had a baby” Lauren Laverne
“I felt compelled to switch on main character mode and stroll the streets of Brooklyn” NPR Music
‘Liberation’ is the third solo LP from composer, arranger, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly5thAve. Layered with orchestral arrangements, jazz improvisation and Hip-Hop production, ‘Liberation’ is an accomplished record of courage, musical conviction, and growth. Trusting his inner voice and personal taste, Sly5thAve found himself liberated from fear by the ease with which the original orchestrations of ‘Liberation’ manifested themselves: “This record exploded out of me. I couldn’t write it fast enough.
I ran from it for so long but when I finally sat down to face it, to face myself and embrace who I am, I learned something about my limits and what I was capable of. I realised that I couldn’t find the missing element from my sound in other people or other artists. They couldn’t make it whole; they couldn’t make me whole.”
Known for his sophisticated compositions, Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II AKA Sly5thAve’s first experiences with large scale arranging were with the Club Casa Chamber Orchestra and recording instrumental covers of popular modern songs. Notably, his orchestral tribute to Dr. Dre, ‘The Invisible Man,’ garnered widespread praise and attention, even earning the admiration of Dr. Dre himself. Through these recordings Sly5thAve felt he had found a way to make people connect with orchestral music; “I’ve long felt orchestras around the world are inaccessible to most people – whether it be the programming or the cost, or the location”.
The LP is Sly5thAve’s first full album of original orchestral arrangements and features the musicianship of Sly5thAve’s collaborators and Ghost Note bandmates - headed by Snarky Puppy's multi-Grammy–winning percussion duo Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth, alongside previous collaborator Roberto Verástegui. Sly5thAve’s passion for collaboration is expressed on singles from ‘Liberation’, as he revitalises the beloved Destiny’s Child classic “No, No, No Pt. 2” with help from Jonathan Mones; through the MonoNeon bassline of “Monoxide” featuring MacKenzie on vocals and guitar from Peter Knudsen; and on closing track“Big Brother feat. Daniel Wytanis”, a track that features and pays tribute to both Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth, alongside Ghost Note member and mixing engineer Ben Burget.
Title track “Liberation” epitomises the whole machine of the album’s recording process; “The orchestra is in full swing, there’s a bit of my personality in there with lead sax, Roberto [Verástegui] and the soli at the end are arranged within an inch of their life, and Peter [Knudsen] takes one of the baddest guitar solos I’ve ever heard”, Sly5thAve enthuses. Taking inspiration from Blaxploitation soundtracks of the 1970s and the music of Curtis Mayfield, Willie Hutch, Herbie Hancock, Gordon Parks, and J. J. Johnson, “Liberation” is – as the name suggests - a true expression of fearless musical freedom.
The vinyl version of the album features Instrumental versions "No, No, No Pt. 2 feat. Jonathan Mones", "Actin’ Whyte" and "Monoxide feat. MonoNeon & Peter Knudsen" that are not available elsewhere.
Sly5thAve is the project of multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and composer Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II, whose
sophisticated compositions are shaped by his faith in hip hop, and deep understanding of soul, R&B and jazz.
Great album! A crossover jazz-r'nb-african trip from continent to continent. London does it again. Nyubian Twist with more jazz overtones. John Woodward
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell
