Of no friable certainty, one crooner that'll become a topic for discussions for most gasbags after he becomes a household name is talented singer and songwriter, ANIACAN.This is one man I met unplanned but certainly not by accident though.
It was a hot sunday afternoon, but despite the sun's blazing outdoors hotness, I was in the studio getting cooled off by the air conditioner, fingers dovetailed and awaiting my Que to go on the air.
The DCA qued-in an unfamiliar track, strange but nonetheless scintillating.
I dropped the script in my hands "behear" the piece as the case was. Right then, an equally strange gaze was set on me and I met it.
He seemed to be smiling and this made me quite uneasy, cos I'm a guy that's to a fault fanatic about pretty things in skirts -sue me-, but my urban compos mentis couldn't betray me here.
Not to be rude nor a be a jerk, I reciprocated by mirroring a not-so-bright, seemingly engaging facade of a grin (considering my equally not-so-bright dentition).
His comportment was both a nondescript and an affable betwixt and how they mixed still beats me.
Dapper appearance from top to bottom clearly showed that this dude was far from being a rockstar, nozzir!!
Crowned with a brown trilby, donning a white shirt and brown bottoms, he hinted we were cool so he decides to move closer and launch a conversation, "that's my song", I smiled and responded "yeah, its an amazing piece of construction; you like it too innit?", he smiled again and responded, "I mean its MY song". That was when it hit me, "oh, you mean you're the artiste that did this track ?", "yeah" was his response, and then, we got talking.
Then, I proposed a quick interview.
Birth names -- Godwin Aniekan Immanuel , sobriquet -- Aniacan.
Q. The name Aniacan sounds kinda cool, how did it come about ?
A. Aniacan is actually the stage name and it was coined from my Akwa-Ibom native name; Aniekan and translates as "Nobody and absolutely nothing is greater than God" in the English language.
Q. How would you classify your kind of music ?
A. I prefer being referred to as a soul-jazz artiste cos my music combines many genres but the most prominent ones are the R&B, Soul and Jazz.
Q. Whose works inspired you ?
A. I admire the works of Otis, John Legend,
*Calvin Richardson and some others.
Q. Illuminate your background.
A. Like I said earlier, the name's Godwin, friends fondly refer to me as Winnie, I'm of Akwa-Ibom descent but I was born on July the 17th in the mid 70s in Lagos and spent most of my childhood days in Shomolu area of the state.
I always loved music. Growing up around Bariga area exposed me to enormous social activities, and there was almost no happening party in that period that eluded me.
Q. Whats your focal point and intended objective in this business ?
A. Well, I hope to explore farther and achieve a whole lot more, touch lives and bring hope to the hopeless with my music cos like I said earlier, its my own gospel.
Q. How did your career in music kick-start ?
A. Wow!!, thats a tricky one, considering I didnt start out with singing per se.
Like I earlier mentioned, I was quite something of a party animal as an adolescent and that kinda exposed me to the entertainment lifestyle.
I fell in love with dancing and did that for a while before I resolved to join the choir in our church and that in turn made me fall in love with gospel.
Armed with my grounds as a chorister and my innate passion for music, I opted to join a singing group in 2002.
"The roots" as we were called back in the day had a mission to project the ills and defects in the world we live in. Sadly though, everyone had to go his own way when we broke-up in 2003 and with that, my solo career was born.
My first ever solo release, a mid-tempo track titled "I dey see" was produced by the Coded Tunes supremo himself, Id Cabasa and ever since, I've been involved in quite a handful of inspirational songs to suit the spirit and lift the soul.
Q. How about Soul-Jazz then ?
A. Soul Jazz for me actually started in 2009 and ever since have stuck to the genre.
Q. Apart from the "I dey see", which is your first single, I mean what other works do you have to your cred ?
A. Well, right now I have about three or four singles on the air, I have received quite an encouraging commendation from the fans too.
Tracks like "woman", "Ajoji" "which is the Yoruba for stranger, and "Nobody" are on the airwaves.
But "Woman" was my first ever Soul-Jazz piece, it made quite a buzz on its release and through it I was granted several media interviews, and it also paved way for me to perform in several events which does not exclude "The Nigerian Wine and Spirit Festival" and "Kids got talent".
And for the video, you guys best watch out for that *giggles*
Q. Speaking of which, how many Videos have been shot for your songs ?
A. Well, my first Video was in 2004 for a track called "bounce", and its was fun, real fun.
For my recent tracks, you guys keep your fingers crossed.
Q. What's your perception about the Nigerian Music scene in the past few years ?
A. Ah!! Mighty oo, artistes here are begining to embrace and leverage on the business in the music.
It has really evolved I must say, creativity is becoming top notch, music makers are really doing their home work.
The foreign market is keenly subscribing to to our works, even their artistes are coming down here en masse to engage ours in collaborations.
The best is actually the deviation from the norm, creating a unique fan base for every player.
Q. What are your expectations and aspirations in 5 years ?
A. I plan on making it bigger and better, infact ehn, nothing but the best.
Q. Last line ?
A. I wont stop going to the studio to cook up fresh inspiring tracks for the people cos this is my gospel.
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