Album Notes

First things first: Shoheen was meant to be a band.

But when singer/songwriter Dami -- the founder and the only member of Shoheen (so far) -- couldn't find anyone else who'd join him on the road, he decided to go it alone.

Ultimately, it makes more sense this way: Dami's thumbnail sketches sound best stripped down to the barest essentials, just his delicate voice and solitary guitar. His just-released seven-song EP, "Until You Hear These Words," leads listeners through his intimate world of whispered secrets and dreamy interior monologues.

"I tend to be more analytical and more passive when it comes to social interaction, and as a result I live more in my mind than I do in the world. I think a lot, I imagine a lot," Dami said from a tour stop last week. "While I'm quiet and demure and somewhat laid-back, there's a lot that's going that's frenetic mentally all the time."

In conversation, Dami -- a native of the West African [island] of Lagos -- is well-spoken but seems reserved and a bit shy. He admits that his decision to play 35 Northeast shows between mid-May and the end of June is his way of making sure that being a performer is really the life for him.

It's no surprise that he cites Nick Drake as one of his main influences -- the introverted British folk singer released three dream-like albums to near-obscurity in the 1970s, only to find acclaim many years after his death at age 26. Drake's loner ethos and skittish live performances are things Dami can relate to but strive to overcome in his own shows.


The songs on "Until You Hear These Words" often display a hushed romantic yearning, whether it's a daydream about a potential office romance ("Holly") or a plan to finally reveal true feelings for someone special (as in the title song). Sometimes there's a need to get beyond ourselves ("Great Escape") and to confront our fears (as in the 2 a.m. confrontation with inner demons in "Minotaur").

"Trouble and Consequence," the chronicle of a failing relationship, feels ever-so-slightly askew as it starts with only Dami's singsong vocals (somewhere between a mellower Dave Matthews and Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik), then introduces a guitar accompaniment and eventually morphs into a flourishing instrumental at the end.

Only "Sad Panda" and the apologetic "Where Are The Lights" dare to include lusher arrangements, with the latter song reminiscent of the shimmering pop of Austin instrumentalists Explosions in the Sky (best known for the "Friday Night Lights" soundtracks).

"The songs don't come from real-life experiences -- they come from the more creative side of my thinking," Dami said, in what may be another shy deflection away from his music's true inspiration. "There are reflective writers -- there are personal writers who write about how they feel about certain things, and there are writers that come the other way and write about things they just create in their heads. There are Lennons and McCartneys, and I'm more of a McCartney -- I'm more of an 'Eleanor Rigby' kind of guy."

Well, better Sir Paul than Nick Drake, at least in terms of longevity . . .

~~~Chris Kocher, Press & Sun-Bulletin




This fledgling neo-folkster has come to embody all that truly emotive songwriting is all about; originality, depth, serpentine guitar melodies, smooth delivery and the uncanny ability to sneak into your psyche by getting in under your skin instead of the conventional in-your-face approach of modern day acoustic guitar slingers. Add to that the most heartbreakingly beautiful voice since Jeff Buckley and you have a force to be reckoned with. Compared to the likes of Damien Rice, Nick Drake, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Dave Matthews, this is one artist you'll be glad to say that you saw play way back when.