Now I know I don’t have to pick.” “This is an open-armed invitation to dive head first into the unseen…the spiritual mystery of life and the ever-present Spirit of God that embraces us in our most helpless state.” Bigger Than Your Box is a celebration of that freedom, and of the joy of self-liberation.
DUCKY DIVE IN HEAD FIRST HOW TO
I was so unsure of how to navigate my professional music world based on what genre I “picked”. “It’s really been eye-opening to pull myself out of this “American” sound. That experience led to a new passion for sonic globetrotting an exploration of Nigerian folk artists Ayo and Asa, Greek-born musicians Magda Giannikou, Israeli-born French artist Yael Naim, and Caribbean-British singer/songwriter Laura Mvula. The new instrument gave her a fresh perspective, and a profound realization of how much her heritage has in fact contributed to her sound. “I remember sitting in my Uncle’s house in Abuja trying to wrap my head around how to play this baritone ukulele, make it my own, and capture a sound that couldn't be found in my piano” she says. Now I know I don’t have to pick.” In 2011 Ike visited Nigeria with her family with a new instrument in tow and a desire to break out of her creative head space.
What does that even mean?” While her music might be incredibly soulful and rhythmic, it has always resonated more within the folk world, and for that she makes no apologies. If I could count the number of times people have asked me if I’m a jazz, gospel, or R&B singer…I’ve spent most of the last 12 years being told to ‘sound more black’. “I always knew I had to create something that felt real,” says Ike, “not conjured to cater to one specific audience. Drawn to both down-tempo folk and indie rock as well as mainstream pop, Ike writes from a place of purity, following her muse to create art that speaks from the soul. Through those years Ike garnered praise from the likes of NPR's All Things Considered, who called her “.a voice and talent beyond her years,” and SoulBounce which described her music as “.a sensational slice of urgent piano-soul.” Live, she has shared the stage with Cody Chestnut, Allen Toussaint, Butterfly Boucher, and more. Five years of striving towards her dream of making it as an artist lead to 2013’s All or Nothing. “I left my job one week after he died.” Rushing headfirst into uncertainty shaped her 2008 debut LP Good Morning, which explored themes of starting fresh and beginning again.
“For the first time, I truly felt the brevity and uncertainty of life” tells Ike. The untimely 2008 passing of her brother caused a sudden shift in perspective. Out of college she worked her hometown scene in Pittsburgh, PA at night while working for a book publish firm during the day. “I believe good music is simply poetry with a soundtrack” she says. Ike began playing music in earnest while in college, gravitating to piano as a tool to aid her greatest passion - songwriting. As warm and beautiful as the lovely tape hiss on an old jazz record, Bigger Than Your Box leaves the listener uplifted, perhaps a little teary-eyed, and very much satisfied. Fiery, free, and immediately arresting, Ike possesses a powerful instrument which she wields with humble virtuosity. The Nigerian-American, Philadelphia, PA-based artist crafts music at turns soaring and plaintive, draped around a voice all dusky suede. Joy Polished and precise, yet buoyed with an airy grace, Joy Ike paints with a broad palette that defies easy categorization.
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