Blog – Muyiwa Olarewaju

EKO ILE: MY PERSPECTIVE

Written by riversongz on November 7, 2016. Posted in Faith.

It was a lifetime in the making and it was an amazing moment to be able to exhale at the concert. It had taken years to excavate my life’s experiences and look at others like me who are from one part of the world but made the UK their home. Your identity is always questioned by both sides that you look to for affirmation. On the Eko Ile CD there was something of a cathartic religious reflection as we made the record in Ghana, the circle was made more complete with the live show, the narration by Nigerian British Actor David Alabi gave me a voice on stage beyond the lyrics of the songs. The killer band led by the prodigious Niji Adeleye and vocal section led by Maria Martin fresh from their BBC Proms victories added the needed special ingredients to make an amazing sound.

Since 2003 with Riversongz we have staged some incredible productions widely regarded as ground breaking in the U.K. Whether it’s the Ocean concert or the O2 concert the first time UK gospel would take over that space or the Evertim Apollo moment that saw thousands gather to the sound of UK Gospel. How can all that be topped? Well I think we did it, the creative direction of Patrick Campbell, a veteran and award winning TV producer and director, mixed with the stage design of Mark Sutherland and the production of Sola Osinowo of Eloytech meant we couldn’t but better our past efforts. I believe we showed the UK gospel family that it’s possible to be an independent artist and put on a world class production without the backing of promoters, management etc. The presence of Nigerian dignitaries like Kabiyesi Oba Tejuoso meant the Eko Ile event had the support of the community. The circle will be completed as the Eko Ile tour goes around the UK and beyond.

The future is bright, the future is #FantasticallyNigerian

The SURPRISE

Written by riversongz on November 7, 2016. Posted in Life.

Friday 28th October was not just an important day for Muyiwa & Riversongz but for a special young girl, Naima McFarlane, who was celebrating her 11th Birthday! The Eko Ile team had been secretly planning the surprise of her life with the help of her Mother.

Muyiwa is known for doing shout outs in his shows, Muyiwa called out different countries and the crowd went wild. Muyiwa began the birthday surprise, “I heard that there is a young girl who is celebrating her birthday today”, Muyiwa called out Naima who was standing by the stage with her mother. The entire band and singers led the audience with Stevie Wonder’s rendition of Happy Birthday as Naima took center stage with Muyiwa.

What is a birthday without gifts? So of course Muyiwa had a gift bag filled with goodies and a signed CD for her. We are thrilled that we were able to give Naima a memorable birthday!

MUYIWA ON BBC SONGS OF PRAISE CHOIR OF THE YEAR

Written by riversongz on November 7, 2016. Posted in Business.

For the 3rd year running I have the massive pleasure of taking part in one of the longest running shows on British Television. Songs Of Praise which first aired in October 1961 has changed over time to cater for the needs of the audience, skip forward 55 years to October 2016 and the producers have kept the faith in a format change that was introduced in 2014. The show in its current form showcases some of the best amateur choirs from around the country. Using the word amateur actually is so inaccurate, these choirs are anything but amateur. In all the years that I have been involved as a judge, the quality of the choirs has been amazing and their sound distinctly British. Of this year’s finalists I wonder who you think will be the winner….. BIG UP UK GOSPEL!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0819zn1/songs-of-praise-gospel-choir-of-the-year-2016-1-part-one

EKO ILE: THE CONCERT REVIEW

Written by riversongz on November 7, 2016. Posted in Music.

Muyiwa is one of the busiest men in the British Gospel industry. Yet this show wasn’t just any show. He pulled out all the stops to make it special.

The Eko Ile headline show is named after Muyiwa & Riversongz latest album. Eko Ile which literally translates to “Lagos My Home”, is a love letter to the two cities and cultures that helped shape Muyiwa’s identity, Lagos and London. After the previous album that took listeners All Around The World, Eko Ile is unashamedly African. It’s no surprise then that this whole motherland theme infused the entire show.

The concert was a very personal one for Muyiwa. It told his story and laid bare his identity for all to see. It didn’t have any long drawn out testimonies, instead spoken word and poetry pieces interspersed throughout the night and gave background. The songs on the Eko Ile album are so personal, there wasn’t much more needed.

On the night, the layout for the venue was strange. The front third was specified as standing stalls but because most people paid to be seated at the rear, there was a chasm as big as the Grand Canyon between the stage and most of the audience. It didn’t kill the vibe but it did force those on the stage to work a bit harder to connect with the crowd. That didn’t spoil our fun though. There was plenty of room to dance and the space didn’t stay empty for too long.

Muyiwa & Riversongz

They kicked things off with Gbalan Gbalan and Woza but it was Mama Africa that really drew us in. It allowed us to get sucked into the whole experience and almost made us forget that we had to take photos.

By the time we got to the biggest up-tempo songs from the evening, the dancers came out in full force. Only You Be God, Imela and Hey Ya got everyone out to fill the void in front of the stage. Finally, people started to forget they paid extra for seated tickets.

We took a quick stop off in the Caribbean for Raindrops before getting on the home straight with the title track Eko Ile. They played us out with an encore of God Of Miracles to send us home happy.

ANDREW BELLO

Earlier in the night Andrew Bello opened the show straight off the back of his night as a nominee at the Pre-MOBOs. He brought out Victizzle to accompany him on the hit track Never Be The Same. But even after his slot, he was visible throughout the show as a cheerleader on the front row. Andrew Bello is always bursting with energy.

However, the night ultimately belonged to Muyiwa. As an experienced performer, he was comfortable on stage. It’s not a mystery why he’s built such a following over the years. This time, he went back to his roots and was in fine form because of it.

Written by DJ FiremanUK

Another Identity Video

Written by riversongz on October 24, 2016. Posted in Life.

I have to confess like many I have done it before, text while driving. The fact is that while doing it I would talk to myself and generally it will go something like “Muyiwa! You know this is dangerous why are you doing it, is it that urgent why don’t you just pull over..” sometimes I will pull over, other times I’ll say to myself it’s just a quick text, other times I’ll stop.

It’s a no brainer really we all know the risks but still make the decision sometimes to do it. I have made a vow with myself, it has to stop not because of the possible police fine or points on my driver’s licence but because in the blink of an eye the world could be turned upside down. How about you, the change we all crave starts with us.

Guess who is coming

Written by riversongz on October 24, 2016. Posted in Business.

I LOVE MY COUNTRY

Written by riversongz on June 29, 2016. Posted in Life.

A TALE OF LEAVING, LEADERS, LOSING, LEARNING AND LOVING YOUR COUNTRY

This has been quite a week for England. It has been a tough week for English leaders. Cameron, Hodgson, Rooney have all taken a bit of a beating. In fact the whole English identity has taken pummelling.

If you believed all you read about the UK you’ll think we were literally at each other throats with fights breaking out on the streets, while another bunch of people wait at the airport to deal most severely with the English team one they landed.

Brexit, Euro exit etc.… but when you live here you realise, yes we have real issues but actually “normal Life” continues.

Sound bites and one liners in the press doesn’t adequately define our norm in the same way “fantastically.. doesn’t define…. David Cameron says I Love My Country I think we can all say the same!

I oluwalomueleyiwa Adebayo Olarewaju ishola omoerin tin jogun ola was in the court of the king enjoying my drink….hmmm my drink.

That’s the opening line from the song, I Love My Country, it was born out of a desire to offer a different perspective in a conversation where all I ever heard was how depraved and unrepairable the country of my parents that I also call home was.

The amount of times I heard “all Nigerians are crooks…but you’re not like a real Nigerian because you’re British init!…” It was always deeply offensive and always led to me quoting the UK statutory offence Handling Stolen Goods of the Theft Act 1968. You know someone is a thief and you keep taking the money they bring into your economy.

It’s always so easy to point to other people’s flaws. I remember after a while believing all the noise and concluding that Nigeria must be an absolute hell hole what with all the corruption, murders, robbery’s, unemployment. Then it was all capped off when my father Kayode Karimu Olarewaju was assassinated in the same country.

So here I was on my way to his funeral, I get on the plane and to my shock 90% of the passengers in the part of the plane I was flying were not Nigerians or black, they were Europeans.

My first question was if the place is as bad as I have seen on the press what on earth are you going there for. I soon realised from bloggers like Alan Boyle that there is profit for some keeping the perception alive. It’s all about the story and who is telling it. If you don’t believe me ask 3 people from your family to recount a landmark moment in the family’s history and you’ll hear 3 different stories!

EKO ILE: THE COMPLETE STORY- THE ALBUM OUT NOW ON iTUNES

Written by riversongz on June 2, 2016. Posted in Music.

The Video, The Single and The Album all right here.

For the last couple of weeks we have given you an advanced opportunity to see the video behind the song, and the film behind the video and the response has been great:

Now you can get the song and the entire album.

Eko Ile, the single and album of the same name, are out now on iTunes!!!!

So please download it here: http://bit.ly/EkoIle.

ONCE YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED

Take a snap of yourself and the iTunes download on your phone and we will send you a special goodie bag!

Check out the official Eko Ile video: Click Here

See the Behind The Scenes film: Click Here

Download the Album: Click Here

IT’S STILL GRATITUDE WEEK

Written by riversongz on June 1, 2016. Posted in Life.

To show and share our gratitude to some of the many people who have been a blessing in our life, we named last week, “Gratitude Week. On each day of the week we celebrated one or two people who we wanted to show our appreciation to.

Well thinking about it, how can you confine Gratitude to one week? So we have decided to keep the gratitude flowing and continue to honour the people who we are grateful for.

So look out for more people this week and please make sure to share your own suggestions.

In the meantime, here are the people that we shared with you last week.

DAVID SHOSANYA

THANK YOU… A Brother, Mentor, Role Model, The Mind I wished I could think like.

AGU IRUKU

THANK YOU….For your unwavering support and limitless opportunity, you let us fly and blow the wind beneath our wings

LEKE ADEBOYE

Your Dad we call Daddy, Your Mom- Mummy. For sharing your parents with the world-we salute you and your siblings.

AKINSAL

FOR BEING THE BIGGEST SHOULDER TO LEAN ON WHEN WE ARE WEAK AND THE BIGGEST CHEERLEADER WHEN WE ARE STRONG. THANK YOU ALWAYS MUYIWA

SOLA ADEAGA – DOC

THANKS 4 the years of developing & encouraging a generation quietly in the background 2 no applause

PASTOR MATTHEW..

I’m just 1 of the millions who are grateful for you and I have much to say, but for wisdom shared on the growth of my sons Thank You and Much Love Muyiwa Official Ac Matthew Ashimolowo Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC)

PASTOR PAUL…

Too much to say in 140 characters. For your undeniable part in my getting to Premier Radio, Turning Point and 700 club, Thank You and Much Love MUYIWA
pauladefarasin House On The Rock

MARCIA DIXON

Marcia has been at the forefront of British Gospel for longer than I care to mention. Marcia we salute you!