Kunle
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF
Music
Press
“Really beautiful. Your voice sounds so rich and full.” Nadine McNulty of Batuki Music, during Kunle's interview on Karibuni in Dec, 2014 - Nadine McNulty
"Kunle's music knows no boundaries -- acoustic folk in English and Yoruba with nods to soul, blues, Celtic, rock and jazz." Feb, 2015 - Brent Jeffries
"...branch out his ever-expanding style of guitar...never one to turn down a challenge...unique instrument style; accompanied with beads worn around his wrist to facilitate his percussive style playing." Written by Alec German, page13, Winter 2015, Vol 19 Issue 4 -
After receiving more than 90 submissions this year, the nine acts played their hearts out in front of a panel of judges and a live audience.
The first act chosen was Kunle, a solo guitar player from Nigeria, who, Hill said, captured the attention of the judges.
"He really impressed a lot of people," said Hill. "We're really happy we got him." - Becki Crewe, Special to the Packet & Times
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
An acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter, Kunle’s folk and soul music bridges contemporary styles with roots in West African rhythms and stories. Nigerian-born and currently based in Toronto, Kunle brings together his rich vocals, unique guitar tapping, harmonica and talking drum to take audiences into what he terms 'music with no boundaries'.
Grounded in traditions of oral history, Kunle’s music starts from a West African story or proverb and then pulls rhythms and sounds from different cultures to tell a story. In his song “But a Dream”, Kunle puts the childhood nursery rhyme “Row Your Boat” to styles from the Middle East and finger-picking techniques. In “Ori Okere Lawo”, he narrates a proverb about listening to advice and accompanies the story with an acoustic melody that is based in Yoruba folklore. The effect is a richly melodic and contemporary style of West African tradition and music.
Kunle can be found performing in West Africa, Europe and across Canada. In October 2017, Kunle showcased the fusion of contemporary roots music with string instrumentation in a concert he directed and headlined alongside a five-piece band and string quartet at the Alliance Française d’Accra Amphitheatre in Ghana. The performance was attended by a Canadian delegation and the High Commissioner of Canada to Ghana tweeted: “Great concert by Kunle @AFAccra. Thanks for bringing some new Canadian music to Accra! Looking forward to your next visit.” Kunle has performed at Mariposa Folk Festival, Blue Skies Folk Festival and Peterborough Folk Festival. Kunle’s song “My Little Fingers” was awarded for best instrumental by Folk Music Ontario in 2015.
Fun fact about Kunle: his technical background is in marine engineering and he's learning German! Kunle is currently based in Toronto.
'His sensitivity and kindness comes through in his songs - there is a gentleness and optimism that pervades them as well. I could have listened to him for several more hours.' Clark Schneider after Home Concert
Band Members
Links
