This young music genius is on course to unleash a masterpiece album to the world

This is a refreshing tale of my interaction with the young music genius Odunsi.

Sunday February 26, 2017, was just like any other given Sunday, but it was to be a special one as I was heading to meet up with one of my favourite artists in recent times, who amongst others was paving the way for new dynamic sounds never heard before, rightly unique and pleasurable to the ears.

Enroute his home address, I end up knocking on the wrong gate on a lonely street in Magodo GRA phase two, but quickly was greeted a walking distance and a gate away by the one and only Odunsi, in his simple top, grey sweatpants, and signature beard.

I walk up to him with a warm smile and shake his hands. “Finally I get to meet the great engine Odunsi,” I say, as he replies with a harmless smile. He leads me into his home and into the living room, where we quickly get to chatting.

This dude was born ready as we begin to talk music, and then he drops the bombshell - a full length LP he says is in the works.

He makes mention of the idea of having an intimate private album listening with fans, wanting to do something different and  original. I was quick to show my enthusiasm and interest in this, letting him know Pulse has been into something of that nature, having held album listening for Hip-hop acts Ice Prince and Illbliss, and would be glad to host him when the time comes.

And of course this sat well with him. Inquiring about the title of the album, Odunsi holds that back, teasing that he has actually at some point during his interaction with fans online dropped the album title.

He talks about the growth of his singles, referencing his song ‘Situationship’ as his fastest growing release in terms of viral numbers(200k streams from Spotify alone, and 300k streams combined across Spotify plus other digital streaming platforms all in 2 weeks),  a remarkable feat for an independent artist.

‘Situationship’ was listed on Spotify USA’s Top 5 viral tracks, calculated based on the total number of people who shared the song divided by the number of listeners of the song from Friday, November 25 to Thursday, December 1, 2016 via Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and Spotify.

And on whether this has attracted international labels to his music, Odunsi makes me understand that once you’re an independent artist and your song happens to be charting significantly, you begin to attract attention from such labels, because they find it fascinating and impressive.

He goes on to say he’s not ready to sign up with a recording label. “Labels are really about what they can get from you at that point. If you’re the type of artist that has a vision, at first you can’t work with them, until maybe you get halfway way through your vision, then you can collaborate with them,” the young visionary says.

The ‘Desire’ singer also throws a word of caution out for the labels, saying music consumption patterns are switching up and labels will have to keep their ears to the ground to be in tune with what’s happening now. “Power is going back to the fans instead of the politics such as what goes on radio.” Odunsi remarked.

On his style which he terms Afro-fusion, he notes that he didn’t pioneer the sound, and that some artists are also practising that style but don’t even know they are. He says it’s just a result of the environment he grew up in, and they’re not even trying to be different, it’s just who they are. He also adds that R&B is his heaviest influence, hence why you get to feel love as a central theme in his music.

Interestingly on what influences his songs, Odunsi credits women as playing a major role in  how far a song goes, describing them as very passionate and carrying a song they love on their head. He references the likes of Mr Eazi and The Weeknd’s songs as being greatly successful due to women validating their songs.

As a producer and singer, Odunsi has come to merge the best of both worlds to be what he is today - dishing out fine music. With confidence, he says there’s no limit to what he can imagine and bring to life musically.

On the cultural shift of the music, Odunsi talks about Wizkid, Maleek Berry and Mr Eazi, as artists re-inventing their sounds, noting that they are touching diverse cultures with their new sounds.

Odunsi regards his generation of music acts as the possible ‘Future of the world’ because of the fusing elements in their sound. “There’s no beat I can’t make, there’s nothing I’ve heard that I can’t create,” he affirms about himself and fellow producer Tay.

Speaking on his new LP project, Odunsi says he’s trying not to stay attached to his “Time Of Our Lives “ EP, rather he is focusing on other sounds coming from as far as Japan, and Nigerian pre-Afro-pop era of songs which produced artists like Styl Plus, 9ice, and Paul Play.

Odunsi makes me understand he hasn’t watched traditional TV in like six months, which shouldn’t seem strange for any serious minded musician.

As we talk further on alternative sounds, he ushers me into his studio, just a short distance away from the sofa where we had been chatting for over an hour now.

He describes the studio as sacred, and where all of his music recordings have come out from, including OzzyB’s “Suzie’s Funeral” and “Time Of Our Lives” EP among others. Odunsi won’t let me take a photograph of him or any part of the studio, saying he likes to keep things mysterious.

But describing what I could see conspicuously, was his Apple desktop, and a couple of other music gadgets, asides the cozy mattresses lying around.

Then he takes me to his Soundcloud account where I get the privilege of seeing his back end analytics data such as top countries that play his songs. Impressively, Odunsi was in the top five on the Soundcloud New and Hot charts.

I also got listening first hand to some of the tracks that would make it to the forthcoming album, and these were not your average 'Pangolo' tracks. Let's just say I was blown away by what I heard. He also got round playing songs from fellow artists whose music he digs.

ALSO READ: Progressive sounds, happiness, woman-worship fill up Odunsi's "Time Of Our Lives" EP

And we just continue to vibe with the music, me feeling like some A&R guru suggesting to him the songs that should definitely make it to the album. Then Odunsi schools me on the concept of melody versus lyrics, explaining that the melody of a song is really what makes the music appealing, whereas the lyrics of a song only begin to make sense when the melody is right.

On the connection between spirituality and music, Odunsi is of the belief that his faith helps him endure. “I've also seen that music is spiritual and you have to have a certain kind of connection with God to keep flowing,” he tells me.

It was indeed an intellectual  time-out with Odunsi “The engine”, as I got to humbly learn from him on some aspects of the music business. Also, I came to understand  he’s a kid running with a vision for his craft and is on course to be a major source of inspiration to those coming after him.