WFAE's Program Director Eric Teel recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Charlotte singer-songwriter Uwade to talk about the release of her debut album, "Florilegium," her Charlotte upbringing, her musical influences, how she ended up singing on a Fleet Foxes album released back in 2020, and much more. When she's not working on music, she's studied at Oxford, Columbia, and she's currently working on a doctorate at Stanford.
Click the LISTEN button above to hear the full interview — and hear Uwade perform two songs on acoustic guitar.
This transcript contains edited excerpts from the interview.
Eric Teel: Congratulations on this new record called "Florilegium."
Uwade Akhere: Yes, very excited. First record. Huge.
Teel: So you were born in Nigeria, but raised both there and here in Charlotte?
Uwade: That's correct. Charlotte is what I consider my hometown in a way. I only moved, we moved from Nigeria when I was 2 years old, so my whole childhood was spent in Charlotte — and Concord a bit, as well.
Teel: Is [Charlotte] a difficult city for a musician getting started?
Uwade: I wouldn't say so. I don't think it is. I think there are lots of really talented musicians. And I can plug The Evening Muse? Because that's where I did my first open mic — huge fan of that. And another, sort of, brewery in the NoDa area. So I think there's a great support for musicians. I just think you have to be in the state of mind of connection and wanting to facilitate creativity.
Teel: Yeah. So musically speaking, during childhood, what were your primary influences? I mean, undoubtedly the pop music of the day. And maybe influences from your parents' music from their time in Nigeria? I mean, I think of folks like Fela Kuti or King Sunny Ade or really well-known world famous Nigerian artists.
Uwade: That was the blend. It was pop music and all the things on the radio. But then, when I was around 13 or 14, I got a Spotify account and that sort of opened things up for me, as well. And then these online — these websites with different user-created playlists and radio stations. I learned about a lot of rock music and indie stuff — Vampire Weekend and The Strokes and Phoenix, from those websites.
But then, yeah, my parents, my dad, the first Fela Kuti song he played for me was called "Lady." And I was just so taken in the car. I was listening with him and my mom. And it was just like this narrative that was crafted to music, but then the music had dominated at some point, and then the narrative — and it was just so beautiful. I was so inspired by it. And, yeah, kept listening to other artists, like Victor Uwaifo, who's from the same state as me in Nigeria. And just anything I could put my ears to really. Anything that came to me I enjoyed.
Teel: [That was Uwade performing] "Call It a Draw," a new single from the record called "Florilegium," just out on Thirty Tigers Records — which is a label that's got Amos Lee and Kathy Mattea, and just all kinds of amazing people. It must feel very, very nice to have that association for the debut.
Uwade: It absolutely is. And they've been such a great partner to work with -- because I'm in school right now, which means I'm not as available as other artists would be. But they're so supportive, and supportive of bringing all aspects of myself into this release.
Teel: Yeah. I want to ask you about the schooling because this has been a major part of your life for quite some time now. Studied at Oxford, Columbia and now doing doctorate work at Stanford — and not music-related. So you're studying the classics, right? Is this in pursuit and in service of your songwriting, or is this just a different aspect of your life?
Uwade: It's a little bit of both, but mainly a different aspect of my life. Because I have a tendency to get bored easily or get tired of things that I do very intensely. And so, I always like to have — I've always enjoyed both music and school in any form. And they've served each other in, sort of, inspiring one, inspiring the other creatively. But also one being kind of a refuge from the other, when the other gets too complicated or too busy. It's sort of like this push and pull, this tension and release, that I balance with the two pursuits.
Teel: So while in school, if I understand correctly, you uploaded a short clip of yourself playing and singing a cover of a song called "Mykonos" by the band Fleet Foxes. And this was in the summer of 2019. And somehow, by the magic of the internet and going viral, that clip made its way to Robin Pecknold. For folks who are unfamiliar, who is Robin Pecknold?
Uwade: Robin Pecknold is lead singer and primary songwriter of Fleet Foxes.
Teel: Not too shabby. And, soon thereafter, not only were you out on tour with them, but ended up singing on their 2020 record called "Shore."
Uwade: I had no idea that it was even possible. All I'd been doing was just kind of putting myself out there, and forcing myself to sort of share my creations and my takes on different songs that I love with the world. And I, still to this day, am in awe that it even happened — and honestly in awe of everything that has happened since then — because it has not been on my radar or a plan — a secret plan that I've had all this time to be on the Fleet Foxes record. But I'm very, very grateful for the opportunity.
Teel: Yeah, anytime the conversation of 2020 comes up related to music, you have to mention the [COVID pandemic] that just, kind of, stopped the world. And that feels like it coincided with about the time that your trajectory was rising quickly. And so what did you do?
Uwade: Yeah, that's a great question. I think I was in school at the time — as I am always. I just kind of tried to take the opportunity to cultivate my sense of direction in songwriting and just spend time playing.
Because I think sometimes when you either go viral, or have a really big opportunity very quickly, and you haven't built up to that, and you haven't had the practice of performing — or deciding exactly who you are, how you want to be perceived — it can be very overwhelming, and you sort of lose the sense of play.
So I think I had the opportunity to just try new things and just workshop songs. And everyone else was also stuck. So I didn't feel like I was stuck or I was behind or anything. So, in a way, the pause allowed for more creativity or a different type of creativity.
Teel: This new record "Florilegium," the word effectively means a couple of things, but the interpretation that you use is sort of like a collection of flowers that you are sending out and sharing with the world, which I love. This is a collection of songs that span a number of years. Was this difficult for you to find, kind of, a consistent thread for a full album knowing that you have evolved and matured?
Uwade: Yeah, that was something I was worried about because I felt like I've always seen artists have these concept records, or established artists who go on tour and then they just say, 'OK, I'm going to focus on writing this record for two years.' And I know that's the goal.
And for most of these songs, I had no clue that there was going to be a record at the end of it. I'd hoped for an EP of some songs that felt best to me and felt most exciting to share, but I started to just accept that it's OK ... for things to come together in this way.
And that's where the idea, the florilegium, really spoke to me — because, yeah, a bouquet of flowers, sometimes the most beautiful bouquets have flowers that nothing like each other, but they complement each other. And to me, what ties the record together is my voice, is my way of writing — that hasn't changed that much. It certainly has changed a bit. But I think at the end of it, I just tried not to panic too much about that, because I felt like I'm an artist, and so the things that I do creatively will all have my little signature. And so that's how I wanted to approach this — without the pressure of feeling like it has to be a finished thesis of anything.
Teel: On the record, there are a couple of songs that sort of harken back to your original roots in Nigeria. "Harmattan," which is a reference to a wind phenomenon in western Africa. And also "Amenaghawon."
And there's even a spot on the record where you are [speaking in another language] — I'm assuming it's you are speaking — and what are you saying in that moment?
Uwade: So, surprise — that is actually my dear mother speaking. I came up with the idea for that song because I just wanted to kind of pay homage to my roots in a way. And I thought the best way to do that — and to encapsulate everything that is meaningful to me — is to have my mom on it.
And so she's saying some words in Edo language, which is the language of Edo State in Nigeria, where I was born. And she's just — she's saying some really meaningful proverbs about ... so, actually, let me just give some backstory.
So the title "Amenaghawon" means the water you'll drink. And it's part of a longer proverb that means "the water you will drink will not pass you by." And so, a lot of what she's saying is along the lines of that, is very encouraging and uplifting, and very profound reflections on how certain things are destined, and how ultimately life will work out for one's good — hopefully, fingers crossed.
