Sep 03 2022

Tambele is for those who choose happiness – Jemiriye

By David Presley

Talented Nigerian musician and vocal powerhouse, Jemiriye, has disclosed that her latest single titled ‘Tambele’, is a song for those who choose happiness over their everyday struggles.

According to Jemiriye, Tambele, meaning ‘Happiness is Free’, was produced in four countries across three continents, and will be officially released on Friday, August 26.

Speaking on the inspiration behind Tembele, Jemiriye said the song came as succour at a time of personal grief. “July was tough. First I lost my beautiful beloved goddaughter Funmilola to sickle cell, and my godmother Mama K. Then I traveled from the USA, France and Croatia, trying to distract myself from the pains.

“I finally found some answers in my soon to be released music titled ‘Tambele’. This song is for you, it’s for me. I choose happiness, I’m still broken, but amidst all, I choose to rise above my situation, and I hope you feel the same strength this song has given me,” she said.

Providing details of the rigorous production process, the vocalist said having to work with foreign studio engineers at different time zones was a major challenge during the process.

“The fact that the song was created in three different continents was a major challenge. Time differences are one of the major issues, communicating what I want exactly to my producer that was thousands of miles away was another, then working with my American studio engineers that aren’t 100% inclined in Afropop. But we made it work perfectly at the end of the day. All their expertise and diversity brought uniqueness to Tambele,’ she said.

Jemiriye further explained how the track was conceived in France, and the production journey through America and Nigeria. She said: “Recording Tambele was an interesting experience. When the inspiration to record came, I reached out to the producer Olatunde Obajeun who was in France at the time, and I in the USA. He worked on the beat when he got back to Nigeria, and I recorded my vocals at the Hot Box Studios Pittsburgh PA USA.

‘I had a few corrections to make on the beat, so I reached out to my producer again, and this time he was in Amsterdam, so we kept going back and forth for a while, and I was preparing for the Picklesburgh festival (the biggest specialty Food Festival in America) at the same time.

‘So we finally finished recording Tambele and then I had to catch my flight to Paris the day after for the Figas Festival. Thereafter I had to coordinate with my team to get the master and finalise the entire recording process while in Paris. In summary Tambele was worked on in four different countries and three continents: USA, France, Amsterdam and Nigeria.”

Jemiriye also revealed that a storyboard for the visual of Tambele is ongoing, and will be filmed in the next few weeks. “I have other songs ready to be released, then the album follows. The album is scheduled for the end of the year. It’s been about 20 years of recording. I can’t wait to share the album with the entire world,” she added.

Stream now: Jemiriye – Tambele