Ayo

她的音乐简单自然，她的声音乾净质朴，就像带著一把吉他浪迹天涯的吉普赛女郎，散发神秘的迷人气质。声音表情似乎无需太多乐器润饰，就能传递一场感动人心的真诚演出，为歌曲注入更多生命力，虽然有著不起眼的外型，但是带著忧鬱气质的Ayo，在90年代美国本土烧起一波Neo-Soul风潮下，添入锁定眾人目光的外籍兵团，体会来自德国的暖色系音频，调融Folk、Jazz、Soul、Reggae等声韵，捕捉欧式浪漫，为男女情爱世界找寻可以暂时休憩的温柔空间。
现居法国的德国籍创作女歌手Ayo，原名为Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin，父亲是到德国唸书的奈及利亚人，母亲则是成长於吉普赛群体的罗马尼亚人，因为家庭环境影响，Ayo从小不但沉浸在父亲蒐藏的唱片堆中，更嚮往波希米亚人那种游牧的生活方式，四处为家，居无定所。当她六岁时母亲染上毒癮，自此不得不跟随父亲同住，也开始学习乐器演奏，从小提琴到钢琴再至吉他，深爱音乐的Ayo，希望能多接触各项乐器，更嚐试从中创作属於自己的主题曲。随著岁数增长，她决定离开家乡，藉著旅游吸收各国音乐文化，从英国至美国再到巴黎，每一次的停留都让Ayo获益良多，也成为歌曲中的点滴记印。
Folk-soul chanteuse Ayo emerged as one of Europe's biggest new pop stars of 2006 with her breakthrough debut LP, Joyful. Born to a Nigerian father and gypsy mother in Cologne, West Germany, on September 14, 1980, as a child Ayo absorbed the musical traditions of her parentage as well as influences including American soul, reggae, and Afrobeat, all staples of her father's extensive record collection. Ayo first studied violin before moving to piano and guitar. At 21 she relocated to London, later dividing her time between Paris and New York City and earning attention while opening for neo-soul kindred spirits including Omar and Cody Chestnutt. After recording a five-song demo reel, Ayo briefly receded from the live circuit in late 2005 to give birth to her first child. Early the following year she signed to Polydor, and with producer Jay Newland completed Joyful (the English translation of her Yoruba name) in just five days. Buoyed by the lead single "Down on My Knees," the album fell just shy of the German Top Ten.