With the release of my debut album, 'God-given', well behind me, it was time to shift gears, gather my thoughts and proceed to put together a sophomore record. For this, I either had to shuttle around in search of a decent recording facility to use, or invest in gear, get my hands dirty and learn to record myself. With a sweetheart in Baltimore willing to put up with my noise and all, the remoteness of that charming yet gritty city and a chance to get away from the daily grind of the rotten apple, I chose the latter.

To date, the process of recording entire musical projects, has taken place during crucial transitional periods in my life. The conception and recording of my debut album, God-given, coincided with my permanent move to the United States from London and the recording of this album in turn coincided with my initial move out to Baltimore from New York and onward to San Francisco whilst processing my all too important 'green Card' which has since been completed. I'm now safely ensconced back in the rotten apple having decided it's the only city likely to keep me inspired for now.

Baltimore was a trip to say the least. For starters, it gave me a chance to take a closer look at the much talked about yet rarely seen inner city American life. With its endless rows of boarded up, abandoned buildings, and the steady stream of hollow eyed dope fiends, Baltimore provided a fascinating yet compelling backdrop upon which to compose and record the project. The heartbreak notwithstanding, I savored its languid, southern pace, the isolation it provided and of course the company of my beloved muse, Morenike.

I've always wanted to further experiment and build upon the fusion of African folk rhythms with modern day music sounds and styles. On this record, I was finally able to do so, as well as express myself freely in my native tongue, Yoruba. Songs such as 'Ekundayo' (tears turned to joy)', which was composed well over 3 years ago and to a larger extent, 'Eniyan Dudu' (black masses), clearly reflect this.

It has also been and still remains an ambition of mine to record a complete body of work with a live rhythm section. Sonny Daze whom I first hooked up with at the annual, winter music conference in Miami back in '05, helped fulfill this ambition. He was generous enough to help put together a pretty neat and tasteful rhythm section with whom I cut four classics, three of which appear on the album. ('Irinajo', 'Muzak' & 'Abide').

The initial preproduction work took place in my studio in Reservoir Hill, Baltimore during the summer months of 2006. The live rhythm section recordings were cut over a late night, marathon session at Chicago's CRC Recording studios in July 2007. My collaborative work with DJ/Producers King Britt and Rich Medina took place in their respective studios in Philadelphia.

I owe a great deal to music maestro and engineering wiz, Bill Lee for helping to sculpt the sound as well as for guiding me through the technological aspects of advanced, digital sound recording. Bill was also kind enough to help mix half of the songs that made the album, the other half being done by myself under his careful guidance and supervision.

Save for a few hitches here and there, composing, writing and recording the album was a highly fulfilling experience. I purchased my first minimoog Voyager and man, that beast rocked my world! Having grown up listening to Fela Kuti and James Brown, I had to throw some kick butt, fancy horn arrangements into the mix somehow. Thankfully, the gifted and gracious LaRon Land was on hand to help with charting and composing the horn parts. Not only that he played on the album too.

Recording 'ADESIJI' took me on a journey through music and it couldn't have come to life without the exceptional talents of the following kindred souls…..

FANTASY (L.A. Awoyinka, Bill Lee)
Drum Programming, Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Minimoog, Sekere, & Percussion; SIJI
Background Vocals; SIJI, Melani Dowdy
Bass; Bill Lee
Congas; Said Ogbara
Trumpet; Dave Smith
Tenor Saxophone; LaRon Land
Trombone; Ryan Snow
Flute; Monet
Horns Arranged by Laron Land

ENIYAN DUDU (L.A. Awoyinka)
Lead Vocals, Drum Programming, Fender Rhodes, Moog Bass, Sekere, & Percussion; SIJI
Background Vocals; SIJI, Melani Dowdy & Phyre Hawkins
Little Girl; N'dya Jeffries
Talking Drums; Folusho Kolade & Dennis Ayandiran
Acoustic Guitar; Jahstix
Cello; Kahari Lemuel
Tenor Saxophone; LaRon Land
Trumpet; Kafele Bandele
Trombone; Ryan Snow
Horns Arranged by LaRon Land & Kafele Bandele

TAKE ME AWAY* (L.A. Awoyinka, King Britt)
Drum Programming, Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Moog Bass, Minimoog, Percussion; SIJI
Drum Programming, Percussion; King Britt
Backing Vocals; Melani Dowdy, SIJI
Tenor Saxophone; Laron Land
Trombone; Ryan Snow

ROOM FULL OF NOISE* (L.A. Awoyinka, King Britt)
Drum Programming, Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Moog Bass, Minimoog, Percussion & Toys; SIJI
Drum Programming, Percussion; King Britt
Backing Vocals; Phyre Hawkins, Melani Dowdy, SIJI
Electric Guitar; Calvin Gaines
Acoustic Guitar; Jahstix
Conga Drums; Said Ogbara

DAWN (L.A. Awoyinka)
Minimoog, Moog Bass, Rhodes, Percussion; SIJI

MORENIKE (L.A. Awoyinka)
Drum Programming, Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Moog Bass, Minimoog, Percussion & Toys; SIJI
Backing Vocals; Melani Dowdy, SIJI
Conga Drums; Kunle Ade
Tenor Saxophone; LaRon Land
Flugel Horn; Dave Smith
Trombone; Ryan Snow
Horns Arranged by Laron Land

HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE (L.A. Awoyinka)
Lead Vocals, Drum Programming, Steinway Grand Piano, Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Percussion; SIJI
Backing Vocals; Melani Dowdy, SIJI
Cello; Deena Purdie
Electric Guitar; Calvin Gaines

YEARNING FOR HOME** (L.A. Awoyinka, R. Krumery, P. McGrew)
Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Sekere, & Percussion; SIJI
Background Vocals; Melani Dowdy, SIJI
Acoustc Guitar, Pandeiro, Bongo's; Porangui McGrew
Surdo Drum, Repique; Quetzal Guerrero
Talking Drum; Folusho Kolade

IRINAJO (L.A. Awoyinka, C. Alvarez)
Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Sekere, & Percussion; SIJI
Background Vocals; Tolu Olumide, SIJI
Bass; Stetson Burden
Drums; Gabe "Manuals" Wallace
Congas; Said Ogbara
Electric Guitar; Frankie Blaze
Tenor Saxophone; LaRon Land
Alto Saxophone; Freddie Jackson
Trumpet; Kafele Bandele
Trombone; Ryan Snow
Horns Arranged by Kafele Bandele

MUZAK (L.A. Awoyinka, T. Hawkins)
Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Clavinet, Percussion; Siji
Lead Vocals; Phyre Hawkins
Background Vocals; Phyre Hawkins, Melani Dowdy
Drums; Gabe "Manuals" Wallace
Guitar; Frankie Blaze
Bass Stetson Burden
Congas; Larry Billups, Said Ogbara
Trumpet; Kafele Bandele
Tenor Saxophone; LaRon Land
Alto Saxophone; Freddie Jackson
Trombone; Ryan Snow
Horns Arranged by Kafele Bandele & Siji

ABIDE (L.A. Awoyinka)
Lead Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Organ, Percussion; Siji
Background Vocals; SIJI, Phyre Hawkins, Melani Dowdy
Drums; Gabe "Manuals" Wallace
Acoustic Guitar; Frankie Blaze
Electric Guitar; Calvin Gaines
Bass; Stetson Burden

EKUNDAYO (L.A. Awoyinka)
Lead Vocals, Drum Programming, Fender Rhodes, Moog Bass, Minimoog, Sekere, & Percussion; SIJI
Background Vocals; SIJI, Melani Dowdy
Conga Drums; Said Ogbara
Talking Drum; Kofo 'The Wonderman'
Flute; Monet

Written, Arranged & Produced by Siji.
Mixed by Bill Lee, Alix Alvarez & Siji
*Co-produced by King Britt
**Co-produced by Santos & Porangui McGrew
Executive Producers; Siji & Sonny Daze
Mastered by Tony Dawsey at Masterdisk, USA