Washington DC based Nigerian Songwriter, KUKU, Launches New Album at Kennedy Center Concert

PRLog (Press Release) - Oct 18, 2007 -
Washington DC/VA based Nigerian Singer/Songwriter, KUKU, Launches New Album at Kennedy Center Concert

Media Contact: Abdul Adebola, 703-354-3008 info@mrkuku.com

Washington, DC, October 17, 2007 – This Sunday, October 21, 2007, at 6 p.m., Nigerian singer/songwriter KUKU will premiere his second full-length effort, The Absence of Cool, during an album listening performance at the world-renowned John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

KUKU composed all tracks, recording this suite of 14 songs during a two-hour evening session in July. The album was recorded, mixed and engineered by his friend, Alexei Tsybine Jendayi, a native of Moscow. The Kennedy Center presents the greatest performers and performances from across the nation and around the world, and is the s busiest arts facility in the U.S., presenting more than 3,000 performances annually.

“It’s a blessing to be playing at the Kennedy Center for a third time – to be mentioned in the same context with a living memorial of its magnitude is a truly a dream,” said KUKU.
Modern soul music hasn’t sounded this good in a long time. On The Absence of Cool, KUKU eschews the standard formula for today’s trendy music, and the result is nothing short of glorious. Taking the road less travelled, KUKU ushers listeners through a suite of unadorned and emotionally-charged songs, incorporating his five-octave vocal range and percussive finger picking guitar style to hypnotically guide them along the way. The album concept asks listeners to stop enslaving themselves to the concept of “cool,” – with cool being the absence of emotion – and instead join him on a musical journey to the raw emotions deep in their souls.

KUKU has been actively touring since 2004, and has played in more than a hundred venues so far in 2007, including: DC’s Blues Alley and Old Post Office Pavilion; New York’s SOB’s; Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia; Philadelphia’s World Café; and the Temple Bar in Los Angeles.

Advance press and media copies of The Absence of Cool are now available. KUKU’s unveils The Absence of Cool on Sunday, October 21, at 6 p.m. Eastern time on the Millennium Stage in the Kennedy Center’s Grand Foyer. The performance is open to public, free of charge, and no tickets are required. It will be broadcast live over the Internet (http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedul...#). Released by KUKU’s own imprint, Mr. Kuku Recordings, in association with City Hall Records distribution, San Rafael, CA, the CD becomes available nationwide on December 11, 2007.  

About KUKU
KUKU creates music with emphasis on the principle less is more. This singer/songwriter’s music draws from the assortment of western and African music he heard growing up in Lagos, Nigeria. His unique brand of soul music, labeled the Afro Soul Acoustic Experience, addresses all human emotions that fall under the universal theme of love. KUKU released his critically-acclaimed full length album, Unexpected Pleasures in 2006, following the success of his popular 2005 Love Sessions EP. Though the majority of his songs are English, fans need no translation to feel the emotional messages when he sings in his native tongue, Yoruba. KUKU’s song “Perfect Reality” is the title track for a Hurricane Katrina Benefit CD (http://secondwindclub.blogspot.com/), and his Untitled Bonus track from Unexpected Pleasures is featured in the 2007 Documentary: Ballou, Senior High School Marching Band (http://www.balloumovie.com/). In August 2007, KUKU joined the honor list of Essence magazine’s “Do-Right Men”, 60 hardworking and inspiring men who are making a positive difference in the black community.

For more information, to see upcoming show dates and tour updates, and to purchase CDs, visit www.kukulive.com or www.myspace.com/kukumusic.