HomeMusicTunde Baiyewu - Diamond in a Rock album review

Tunde Baiyewu – Diamond in a Rock album review

Tunde Baiuyewu is better known as being the frontman of the Lighthouse Family. Having now gone their separate ways, Tunde embarks on the release of his second album, Diamond in a Rock. Diamond in a Rock is Tunde’s first material in eight years. During that time, Tunde has got married and raised a family and been enjoying time away from the spotlight. Having interviewed him recently, we were looking forward to listening to his new album, which he was very excited about. This album was made, Tunde says without the big pressures from the big studios and the album contains a mix of African and Western rhythms. It is an album that he has taken time in getting right and recorded it in Portland, which is now dubbed the ‘new Nashville’, due to its high proportion of musicians and aspiring musicians, who call it their home.

The first song on the album is his recently released song, called Move. Move is a gentle and beautiful song, it’s very relaxing and Tunde’s soothing vocals dominate the track, the same goes for the next song, which is called Blissful In No Time. The title track Diamond in A Rock shows off Tunde’s falsetto, it is a positive song that is again lovely and gentle to listen to (we can see a familiar theme occurring here!). Tunde decides to give us a little twist on the album, by giving us an edgier song, called Effigy, which is a great example of the way in which he draws on African textures to embellish the instrumentals, while exploring darker subject material.

We have to say that the album is very smooth and slow, almost to the point of making you feel a little too relaxed. What would have been lovely to have heard on this album would have been some uplifting and faster spaced songs, which Tunde does so well and it also would have been nice to have heard a lot more of those African influences, which he holds so dear to his heart.

The album’s overall style and feel is of being soothing, relaxing and you feel almost as if you are sitting in a jazz-cafe type setting, or sitting in a cafe in Paris, watching the world go by. The songs are all gentle, soulful and soothing. Tunde’s vocals are absolutely gorgeous as always throughout the album. It’s a very classy sounding album, with some touching lyrics and some songs such as Awake sound almost lullaby-gentle. The album finishes with We’re All In This Together, which has a lot of beauty in it, particularly when he sings about love, faith and peace and it is one of our favourites on the album.

Diamond In A Rock in a nutshell feels like a collection of soothing tales and beautiful vocals. It is a soft and soulful album. It’s not really what we were expecting, as we were hoping for a few more up-beat and faster songs, but we aren’t disappointed with this offering. It’s a joy to hear his voice once again and he has certainly been missed.

Carys Jones
Carys Jones
I am passionate about everything any anything that involves music, theatre and the arts! I love interviewing artists and getting to learn more about them. When I’m not doing artsy things, you may find me watching rugby, singing with my choir and travelling to a new part of the world. Carpe diem.

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