Joshua Idehen’s identity is what should strike you first about him. He is a British-born Nigerian, but he stays in Sweden. His mixed experiences give him an Afropolitan tilt. On the other hand, though, his music style, UK electronic/jazz, is frankly off-Afrobeats, the mainstay of the Nigerian music scene. Yet the themes of his songs are just as heartwarmingly relatable as their customary overdrive of fluid beats and glossy instrumentation. You can belong to any part of the English-speaking world and be enmeshed in his sounds. And you do not even need a linguistic advantage to be rhythmically wooed. The eclectic appeal is there.
Interesting about this artist is how he is many things at once: a poet, workshop facilitator, editor, musician, and a father. It is no wonder that his genre-bending music co-opts decent lyricism and tender, alluring vocals. As a poet, Idehen has been featured on Mercury-nominated albums Channel the Spirits by The Comet is Coming and Your Queen Is A Reptile by Sons of Kemet.
Prior to the release of his debut solo mixtape Learn To Swim, Idehen has put out a number of singles and jumped on collaborations, amongst which are his joint projects involving LV on Routes, Islands and Dub Ends, and Daedelus on Holy Water Over Sons. Idehen was also a co-pioneer of the bands Benin City, Hugh and Calabashed, and his musical influences have been deeply felt.
Idehen has described his latest release Learn To Swim as an album inspired by the gloomiest period of his life, particularly immediately after his 2017 divorce. He plunged into depression at the time, and it could have been really worse for him were it not for friends who took it upon themselves to rescue him from the self-destructive route. After bouncing off his precarious mental health situation, more experiences came up, including the death of George Floyd and the birth of his daughter, both of which triggered a change in his perception. In that moment of realization, Idehen resolved to bury his anger and overcome the built-up trauma. With the decision to be a torchbearer of equanimity made, Learn To Swim became an inevitable sonic breed.
According to Idahen:
“As someone who came from a far from perfect family, I had an urgent need to not pass down any traumas I’d inherited unto her (my daughter). And showing her how to be kind, to herself and others. In ways I’m still learning how cuz I’d not been taught, and how to be fearless, do things she once thought impossible, like learn to swim, age 40.”
Learn To Swim, out on April 21, contains ten tracks and features Sharlene Hector, Katie Dove Dixon and Jono McCleery. But you cannot help but admire the free-spirited personalisation of ideas on the album as the artist delves into narratives of identity and self-salvation. In the first track Don’t You Give Up On Me, the oft-repeated choir-like chorus rings a bell of a second chance for someone. It doesn’t matter that “second chance” really means as many chances for redemption as possible. Next comes This World’s A Madness which treats the utter meaninglessness of life, yet Idehen is optimistic as he preaches the need to live a worthy life despite the chaos. “Get offline”, “drink some water”, “get outside” and “love yourself” are a few nuggets of wisdom as Idehen presses for stable mental health.
In the third track Best Kind of Lost, Idehen professes love that is adventurous as he half-raps the entire lines on storytelling instinct. This is followed by What We’re Doing Tonight, another love-themed piece, powered by Katie Dove Dixon’s piercing vocals. Learn To Swim II, the fourth track, is rather a slow-paced spoken word interlude than a song in the real sense, as Idehen gives counsel. “A hot shower will cure 99% of bad vibes, trust me,” he says at one point.
Idehen reprises familiar themes, delivered with mild storytelling variations as the album progresses. But I Got You Every Step of the Way is probably special in its own way, as it is dedicated to British writer Leone Ross. Leone Ross is, to Idehen, “one of my best friends, godmother to my daughter, and legit one of the reasons I’m still alive”. No doubt, the song speaks of Idehen’s ability to reciprocate goodwill.
Ultimately, in this project, Learn to Swim, Idehen comes off as a philosopher and motivational speaker. His delivery is soluble, barrier-shattering and emotionally uplifting.
Listen now.