Artist in Focus: Aby Coulibaly

If you’re looking for some new music that feels as fresh as it does heartfelt, this Irish RnB cross Soul artist could be exactly what you’re looking for. Aby Coulibaly has a characteristically relaxed musicality and a sound, a look, and overall charisma that exudes effortlessness and style.

Coulibaly has been on the Irish music scene for a few years now, however the release of her debut album ‘At the End of the Day... It’s Night’ only came last October. On her social media, Coulibaly said that ‘this project doesn’t necessarily tell a specific story, but it captures different times in my life, different phases and different emotions all wrapped into one because right now I can’t put myself or the music I make in a box’. This lack of a definition to her music is arguably for the best, as she has created something fun, impactful and deeply heartfelt.

On it, funky electronic beats fuse with smooth and easy vocals. Sometimes, as in the song ‘Weekdays’, she shifts between silky vocal melodies and spoken word. She demonstrates the self-assurance of an artist with decades more experience, displaying the ability to take things at her own pace. Most of her lyrics feature deeply personal narrative about her life and insightful observations, her most recent release ‘Big Pharma (Withdrawal)’ being a perfect example of this. She has begun making a habit of being open and unfiltered about her life, struggles, thoughts and opinions. Speaking about it on her Instagram, Coulibaly has said that ‘being vulnerable is so freeing’. In turn this makes her music all the more inviting and relatable.

In the past, she has discussed how, as a child of Irish and Senegalese parents raised in Ireland, she found herself ‘dipping between two cultures’ and how she had to find ways to ‘secure her place in the middle’. This feeling of being outside the main scope of either culture has allowed her to let go of any pressure to adhere to a certain style or genre. So, in many ways this has had a positive influence on her music, making her sound idiosyncratic and eclectic.

Coulibaly is a driven and highly creative figure in the independent music scene. She created a record label and collective, Camomile Club, with fellow musicians including Monjola, whose single ‘Where u at?’ she features on. His younger brother Moyo (stage name MOIO), produces most of her music and is also involved in Camomile Club. They also host regular events in Dublin, showcasing some of the best DJs and rising musical talent the Irish music scene has to offer. From their passion for music and support of fellow artists, they have ignited a sense of excitement, fun and community through the Dublin music scene, the likes of which has rarely been seen since the pre-COVID era. Through this collective, they continue to encourage and push musical creativity and independent music in Ireland.

Having just finished playing with Imagining Ireland, a collaboration of Irish musical artists performing in both the National Concert Hall in Dublin and the Barbican in London, she is supporting Olivia Dean on a nearly sold-out tour of the UK and Europe this Spring. Her natural stage presence and smooth vocals make her a performer to get excited about. Wrestling with personal challenges, pain and loss, she has continued to work, producing raw, exciting and skilful records.

Song recommendations:

Where u at? Feat. Monjola

Patience

Still

Weekdays