Personnel: Angelique Kidjo (vocals); David Z (guitar, programming); Paul Peterson, Glenn Nightingale, Joao Mota (guitar); Chris Davi (saxophone); John Thirkell (trumpet); Neil Sidwell (trombone); Lester Mendez (piano, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, synthesizer, programming); Jean Hebrail (keyboards, bass, programming); Will Mowat (keyboards, programming); Julian Crampton (acoustic bass); Andy Gangadeen, David Fall (drums); Carol Steele, Luis Jardim, Jacques Largent (percussion); Ingrid Matsidisi Webster, Damel Carayol, Julie Imani Payne, Enyonam Gibesemete, Lamya Al-Mugheiry, Claudia Fontaine (background vocals).
Engineers: David Z, Brian Poer, Arabella Rodriguez, Eugenius Ellis.
Recorded at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota; Harry Son Studio, Paris, France; Britannia Row and Soul II Soul Studios, London, England.
Personnel: Angélique Kidjo (vocals); David Z. (guitar, programming); Glenn Nightingale, Joao (Tombo) Mota, Paul Peterson (guitar); Chris "Snake" Davi (saxophone); John Thirkell (trumpet); J. Neil Sidwell (trombone); Lester Mendez (piano, synthesizer, programming); Jean Hébrail (keyboards, bass guitar, programming); Will Mowat (keyboards, programming); Julian Crampton (double bass); Andy Gangadeen, David Fall (drums); Jacques Largent, Carole Steele, Luis Jardim (percussion); J.D. Steele, Jearlyn Steele Battle, Fred Steele, Jevetta Steele (background vocals).
Recording information: Britannia Row, London, England; Gangadeen's, London, England; Harry Son, Paris, France; Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN; Soul II Soul 1, London, England.
Arrangers: Chris "Snake" Davi; Jean Hébrail; Will Mowat.
In the continuum of African music, Angelique Kidjo is a decidedly non-traditional practitioner, and she wouldn't have it any other way. A synthesist of remarkable savvy, Kidjo brings together radio-friendly pop, soul-diva stylings, and contemporary club production with vocal motifs and rhythms from her native Benin. AYE is a further step in the artist's efforts to blend these disparate elements.
Recorded half at Minneapolis's Paisley Park studios (with sessions produced by Prince collaborator David Z), and half in London at Soul II Soul studios (with sessions produced by Soul II Soul's Will Mowat), AYE's reflects the eclectic yet streamlined pop aesthetics of those respective camps. The album's single, "Agolo," leads off, and establishes the bright Afropop sound that dominates the rest of the disc. The harder-edged "Adouma" and the expansive, soaring "Djan-Djan" help mix things up, making AYE an adventurous listening experience. minimize