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Ayoe Angelica: I’m Amazed

Ayoe Angelica I'm Amazed
Playground Music Scandinavia

“I’m Your Piano”, a song on Danish-Ethiopian Ayoe Angelica’s debut I’m Amazed, is as much the 20-year old's self-description as it features a typical arrangement of her sound. Above its thumping bass and drums, bright piano and organ riffs color Ayoe’s lyrics, sung in a voice that styles itself a number of ways: electronic, playfully soft, playfully growling.  I-Tunes’ ranked Ayoe in their top ten jazz category, confusing listeners who'll expect to hear something strongly reminiscent of the genre. Produced by electronic music's Mads B. B. Krog, the album is more accurately a pop R&B fusion of jazz sounds (trumpet and a woodsy, acoustic bass) with electronic instrumentations, buzzes, and ticks. Ayoe sings in a husky, careful voice that isn’t flashy, but sticks to the substance of the melody. The result is a chill ambient sound with lots of interesting textures.

Lyrically, I’m Amazed spans the spectrum between new love and survival of heartbreak.  The opening track, "Dr. Jekyll", is a melancholic exploration of Ayoe's romantic disillusionment, featuring a mournful violin solo that's pretty powerful, considering the song's otherwise understated instrumentation. You'll notice she does well with a repetitive chorus, a formula repeated in "Sugar", her second single.  The peppy, self-empowered “Also on a Tuesday” shows Ayoe at her jazziest, in contrast to the more menacing, rock-oriented “Get A Hold”, or bluesily pensive “Never Drown”. Ayoe also attempts the daring, paying tribute to Billie Holiday with a cover of “God Bless the Child”. Though it lacks the certain “umph” associated with the classic, it's delivered, again, in the album's signature fusion.