" It's a little early for Holiday announcements, but here is a sneak peak at a cool project by Jacob Sibi-Okumu. Singer Robert Varela collaborated with Sibi-Okumu adding passionate vocals to the synthy back beats. The track is funky and builds on past themes from holiday tunes that remind you of warm times growing up. " - John Coulter
Boston, Massachusetts, 2018 – Kenyan guitarist/producer/arranger Jacob Sibi-Okumu has collaborated with soulful singer, Robert Varela to give us an exclusive sneak peak to a refreshingly original holiday album.“The Joy Christmas Brings” is the title track of what will be a Christmas EP, geared towards embracing musical and cultural diversity. “This is a single that mixes elements of traditional Christmas jazz standards with contemporary funk and R&B inspired grooves,” says Sibi-Okumu. “It’s a song about Christmas that carries a musical mood and message for the whole year - Robert’s smooth vocals bridge a soothing gap between ‘jazz crooner’ and ‘soulmaster.’”
The rest of the album, which will be released one song at a time across all platforms (including Spotify and YouTube) following Thanksgiving weekend all the way up to Christmas Eve, will see Sibi-Okumu collaborating with artists from all around the globe. After arranging the Bulgarian Christma ssong “Ч удоподарими(ChudoPodariMi)” last year, Sibi-Okumu felt inspired to create new Christmas music that would encompass styles ranging from traditionally expressive a capella to groovy African-inspired rhythms. “Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated all over the world,” says Sibi-Okumu. “The aim is to create a collection of new songs that uphold the traditional spirit of Christmas as we know it, and then juxtapose those songs with different cultural flavors that haven’t really been explored before commercially. It will hopefully be a little something for everyone - to help us celebrate where we come from and appreciate each other even more through the joy Christmas brings!”
Sibi-Okumu’s Kenyan upbringing, coupled with secondary and tertiary education in largely international environments (including the Berklee College of Music), has given him a unique outlook on cultural diversity. He has been an active guitarist for several international artists in the Massachusetts area including highly recognized Malagasy singer, Niu Raza who describes him as one of the ‘coolest guitarists.’
“He brings those African unique vibes to my music, which are impossible to replace when he cannot make my gigs because his sound is so unique!” she continues. Sibi-Okumu has also collaborated as an arranger/producer with various international musicians such as Japanese artist, Taiga Kunii, who describes him as “ one of the most uniquely versatile musical minds in popular music that [he’s] ever worked with.
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