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Questions for Dinachi Onuzo

October 7, 2014

Dinachi Onuzo (26) is talented singer song writer whose blend of music is described as ‘an intriguing blend of jazz, folk, highlife and gospel. She has been heard at a number of open mic venues and festivals across the UK. Dinachi perfected her art by singing at ‘church choirs and leading gospel choirs whilst at school and at University’. Even though she cannot stand heavy metal music, the guitar is her preferred musical instrument. She spoke to Tundun Adeyemo recently.

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Tell us about your EP. Is this your greatest accomplishment?

Before releasing the EP, I’d been playing open mic nights and shows in and around London for about a year and the songs on the Come Out EP are probably the ones that resonated the most with audiences. ‘Come Out’ is a song that’s very dear to my heart. ‘Ohio Boy’ is a bit of a funny, silly love song, which still has a serious side to it. And Mr Tenny musically, has very strong Fela influences and lyrically, talks about not sitting down and watching chaos unfold around us but rather initiating change – being who God has called us to be.

 Why should anyone listen to you? Who else in your family sings?

I’m nice so I must write nice songs. Both my sisters, my dad and a lot of my extended family on my dad’s side.

 Who are your musical inspirations? What kind of music do you listen to today?

The likes of Nina Simone, Fela and Tracy Chapman because they sang about light hearted things but also about the deeper issues of their times. Most of the music on my phone would fall under gospel and Christian music. I’ve been getting into jazz of late and a bit of folk, soul, R&B. I also listen to a lot of music that you really can’t limit to one genre. I think they describe it as Alternative.

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 What embarrassing songs might I find on your MP3 player? 

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on where you’re standing, I don’t think you’ll find any.

 Where would you most like to perform? 

Gotta dream big, Royal Albert Hall, baby! Having said that, I love the pure sound you get in old cathedrals.

 If you weren't singing, what would you be doing? .   If you could dabble in another genre of music, what would it be? What genre of music can't you stand to listen to? 

Probably singing. Although, I could see myself in art school. I think it would be pretty cool to sing in a jazz band.

Maybe heavy metal but that’s probably because my ears aren’t tuned to appreciate it.

Where can we find more about you?

I’ve got a website – dinachionuzo.com. I’m on twitter - @DinachiOnuzo and Facebook – facebook.com/dinachionuzomusic. You can also listen to my music at soundcloud.com/Dinachionuzo 

Dinachi Onuzo’s debut EP, Come Out, is out now on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and other online stores.