Reviewed by John Hebden

Adonye goes for an uncluttered sound of beats, keyboards and vocals and writes about his faith in the context of the sometimes violent life on the streets of the multi cultural inner city. A google search on Adonye reveals only a myspace site with an unreadable colour scheme. However, with a bit of copy and pasting I was able to establish that Adonye is an experienced church musician and choir leader and he has sung with the likes of Madonna, Beverley Knight, Mica Paris and the London Community Gospel Choir - so, we might forgive him for his web design problems. Everything on 'Music & Life' is fairly smooth and mid-tempo. Tracks one to three are short, sweet and engaging, but he really gets going on track four, a five minute mini opera with beautifully linked sections, featuring a soulful solo voice, rap and then choir. This track in particular evidences Adonye's skill in vocal arrangements. Adonye's writing deals with the life on the street ("we're killing Mother's Sons") and the need to rely on our heavenly guide ("I call you Daddy, Daddy stay near ..."). We should look forward to a full length album with some anticipation.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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