From Kate Bush to TLC via Soul Children, Ayo’s youth playlist

At boarding school, she listened to her parents’ favorite songs to comfort herself. From his first cello lessons to the first part of James Brown at the Palais des Congrès, Ayo looks back on the musical events that marked his childhood.

Where did you spend your childhood and in what environment?
I was born in Germany, where I spent most of my childhood and adolescence. We lived in the town of Neuss, near Düsseldorf. I am the youngest of four children. My father, of Nigerian origin, worked as a mechanical engineer. When my parents divorced, life became complicated. My mother started taking hard drugs. At 9 years old, I entered a boarding school, where I studied until the age of 14. Extroverted, a little weird and solitary, I didn’t like fitting into the mold. I wore winter clothes in summer and vice versa. Mild dyslexia hampered the smooth start of my schooling. Things got better little by little. I played a lot of sports, ballet, athletics, basketball and ice skating. At 18, my final year, I decided to abandon my studies to devote myself entirely to a musical career.

Did your parents listen to Music?

In the 1970s, to finance his studies in Germany, my father worked as a disc jockey. We had a large collection of reggae, soul, afrobeat and Motown vinyl. He particularly loved Dennis Brown, Peter Tosh, Nina Simone and, above all, Kate Bush. When I was little, my mother listened to the same music as my father. After their separation, his tastes and lifestyle changed. She became a fan of rock and metal with the bands Black Sabbath, Helloween and Iron Maiden, whom she adored.

What is your favorite song from your childhood?

My favorite childhood song is, without hesitation, I’ll Be the Other Woman, from the group Soul Children. I was 4 or 5 years old. When my parents passed by, they would systematically start dancing together in the living room. I have a happy memory of it that I still cherish. At boarding school, at the age of 11, I bought my first vinyl with the money I had saved. I chose Sunny, by Bobby Hebb, because I liked the lyrics and the melody, but it was especially a song that my father often listened to at home. Hearing it comforted me. At 15, my father brought back, on the advice of one of his DJ friends, a record by the group TLC, which I loved.

What was the first concert you attended?

I must have been 5 or 6 years old. My mother took me to see the African music group Osibisa in a very small venue. I was impressed by the people and the noise. I spent the concert watching the bass player who I believe was a friend of my father. At that time, the electric bass was my favorite instrument. At 22, I had the chance to open for one of James Brown’s last concerts. We talked and prayed together before going on stage. I called my father who adored him. We both couldn’t believe it!

Did you learn music as a child?

We had quite a few instruments at home: a guitar, a keyboard, a flute. When I was little, I tried to play it as best I could. This amused me a lot. I started playing the cello when I arrived at boarding school. The establishment had its own conservatory. From the cello, I moved to the piano. I abandoned classical studies when I returned to live with my father at 14. From the moment I started music, I had the desire to create, compose and write songs. I wasn’t interested in playing tunes from a score. In high school, I worked with beatmakers who offered me instrumentals, on which I sang and rapped.

During a concert for a sort of music festival in Germany, a manager noticed me. Producers have offered to work on my songs. My father took me to the studio three times a week, hours away from home, to record. I started playing guitar self-taught at 19 on an instrument that a friend gave me for my birthday. At that time, I was sharing a room with musicians, including one, Georges, with whom I wrote Down on My Knees. Almost all the songs on my first record were created during this period. For a career as a singer, you certainly need talent and a lot of work, but luck also counts. Mine was to meet Jean-Philippe Allard, at the time head of the Polydor label at Universal. He signed my first album, I was 25, and we never left each other until his death last May.

Do you remember the first song you wrote?
Her name was Life Was Such a Disappointment. I was 14 years old. Composed on the piano, it was a rap with a sung chorus that spoke about my childhood, the family problems I had gone through, my mother. Music served as therapy for me!

Mami Wata, Ayo’s new album, has been available since September 20. She will be in concert at the Olympia in Paris on June 25, 2025.