About
Danish-Ethiopian female singer Ayoe Angelica, age 23.
In co-operation with producer and composer Mads B. B. Krog, Ayoe delivers an unheard and exciting combination of soulful vocals, acoustic elements and crunchy electronics, complemented with a touch of lo-fi jazz.
Debut album - I'm Amazed (2008/2009)
New album - Dandelion (2010/2011)
Video/single releases from I'm Amazed:
-Dr. Jekyll
-Sugar
-Left Side
-Face With Nobody
Video/single releases from Dandelion:
-Plenty More FIsh
Ayoe Angelica Biography
“With so much music in each syllable, no wonder she became a singer!” says Ayoe’s father about his daughter’s exotic name. The name has roots in Ethiopia, the birthplace of Ayoe’s mother and the country in which Ayoe spent part of her childhood. She still feels a strong connection with her other homeland and plans to visit again someday:
“I remember Ethiopia through the eyes of an eight-year-old child,” she explains. “So, going back there will definitely be an emotional rollercoaster, but I’m really excited about it!”
Most of her childhood was spent in a small town to the south of Silkeborg. Ayoe’s home was a creative one where she and her sister were raised by their artistic, adventurous parents. Her father is a fantasy artist, painter, sculptor, theatrical scenery artist, and inveterate jazz lover. He and his wife placed great value on surrounding their children with music:
“I took in soul, jazz, and gospel as a baby,” Ayoe says. “I remember signing ‘Respect’ and ‘Summertime’ while the other kids were singing ‘The Itsy-Bitsy Spider’. To this day, my father always brings me something musical when we meet, whether it’s a book of music or a funky old LP.”
Icons like Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald are all a part of Ayoe’s music collection, and she still gets goosebumps whenever she listens to legends like Eva Cassidy, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. Even though their fabulous voices have inspired her, however, she never tries to sound like anyone but herself:
“The great divas are hugely fascinating, and it’s intoxicating to hear their voices and feel their nerve and verve. But I’d never dream of trying to copy them. Every singer sings with her own voice – and that’s how it should be.”
Ayoe spent much of her youth on stage. During her school years, she participated in drama and dance, all the while trying out various instruments, from the recorder to the saxophone to the piano. It was as a teenager that she suddenly became serious about singing and as a result became lead singer in a big band and formed her own little jazz group.
2005 turned out to be pivotal year for Ayoe. During the annual Riverboat Jazz Festival in Silkeborg, she met up with composer and producer Mads B.B. Krog, who had just made albums with the up-and-coming talent Peter Rosendal and the internationally known Chris Minh Doky.
It was not long before her suitcases were packed, and Ayoe followed her dreams to Copenhagen. Together with Mads, she began recording her debut album I’m Amazed, which was released in the summer of 2008. The album’s sensual vocals and nu jazz sound met with a warm reception from both the public and critics at home and abroad, and she spent the remainder of 2008 and 2009 touring with a live band, filming four music videos, and releasing four singles from I’m Amazed.
While performing concerts and promoting I’m Amazed, Ayoe began writing songs for her second album. Now, at the age of just 23 and in partnership with producer Mads B.B. Krog, she is ready to wow the world with Dandelion.
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