OCTOBER SINGLE RELEASE – Aunty Freeda ‘Medo’
28 November 2023
The latest chapter in her story: the piano-led ballad “Goddess” is an uplifting meditation on the significance of maintaining spiritual ties while carving out time to honour our ancestors. Goddess, according to NGAIO, is about “understanding that we are connected to more than the physical space of here and now – It’s about knowing that we can find that connection in nature and ourselves”.
Through the lens of connection, “Goddess” also encourages listeners to celebrate women. “Society is always trying to censor us as women and control a narrative around our bodies. How we look, what rights we have, who we should be”, NGAIO continues, “Goddess is about saying we’re all Goddesses – no matter what anybody tells us. We don’t need to starve ourselves. We don’t need to have the same face and body. We don’t need to be ashamed of our uniqueness – it’s what makes us individuals. And if you ever forget that, it’s important to go to the places that will help you remember – which is what the song is for”.
A truly unique sound is created by NGAIO throughout the EP through the combination of West African percussion, trip-hop influences from Bristol, jazz, dub, and soulful lyrics. It is a reflective and introspective voyage that reflects NGAIO’s investigation of cultural heritage, self-expression, and the difficulties of expressing one’s true self in a society that is frequently unreceptive to different points of view.
Alongside her impressive library of music, NGAIO continues to contribute to supporting gender-fluidity in modern music. NGAIO founded Booty Bass as a space for women and non-binary folk to come together and play big, bad, unapologetic bangers. Since its conception in 2018, it’s become a space that promotes an appreciation of different cultures and sounds worldwide where dancing and laughing is key. In 2022, NGAIO launched Obsidian in collaboration with Shade Cartel – a micro venue that launched at Boomtown and took over Glastonbury and We Out Here festival in 2023. As a curator, she also produced a Booty Bass Takeover at St Paul’s Carnival with the first female/non-binary run Soundsystem and takeovers at Shambala festival. She also produces and hosts her monthly radio show on Soho Radio broadcast in London and New York. NGAIO was also recently a part of the Censored campaign highlighting female nipples being sexualised which was part of a city-wide exhibition addressing the hypocrisy of it and the consistent policing of women’s bodies.
2023 also saw NGAIO quickly rise to become a highly successful and sought after musical talent. NGAIO hosted her first Boiler Room in Bristol, Keep Hush as part of the Booty Bass Takeover and supported D Double E, Lowkey, and Bugzy Malone at the WikiLeaks event organised by Shangri-La. At last year’s Glastonbury festival, she performed tracks from her new EP on the Greenpeace stage. By shattering preconceptions of what identity can be, NGAIO’s sound will continue to resonate with audiences for many years to come.
