A Year in Music – 2020 – Tolü Makay
We asked some of our favourite artists about their year. You can see Tolü’s thoughts below.
You may have seen Tolü on New Year’s Eve with her cover of the N17 along with the RTE Concert Orchestra, which has already clocked up over 30,000 views on Youtube and over 800,000 views on Twitter.
An extraordinary year in many ways. How did it affect you specifically?
Yes, definitely an extraordinary year! It’s allowed me to grow, retrospect & figure what is most important to me.
Where did music fit in during 2020? Does it seem important?
Music is very important. This year showed how much music is a necessity. To simply detach from all the uncertainty and confusion and find joy in the midst of it, music was the outlet. It bonds people. I’ve met incredible inspiring beings from music. People I look up to or even dream to achieve what they’ve achieved in their music careers.
What albums resonated this year? Can be old or new.
There were 3/4 Albums I listened to back to back : Celia by Tiwa Savage, ‘Homecoming’ by Beyoncé, Syre by Jaden Smith, BEING (my own EP release), and Teyana Taylor “album”. All different vibes but all powerful in their own way! If I needed to dance my butt off and feel alive, ‘Homecoming’ did that for me.
If you had to pick one album, to sum up this year, what would it be?
It’s a tricky question, but I’d say Jaden’s Syre. It talks about police brutality, it has chaotic but insane interwoven production from one song to the next. Pulling from one direction of a new song before you know you’re even in it. It feels like one long song. And 2020 felt like that but with so many things happening at the same time.
How have you got through the last 7 or 8 months?
My friends and building stronger bonds with my siblings. Working on my EP ‘BEING’ also kept me quite sane. It gave me something to focus my energy on.
Are you working on any interesting projects?
I am. I’ll be doing some work relating to mental health & writing for bigger music projects. I’ve grown to love and appreciate bodies of work.
Any hopes for next year?
I’d love to land in some crazy money to buy a house for my family. That’s to hoping. But aside from that, the hope is to keep creating and giving back to my community at any chance I can.
Don’t Let Go –
Tolü Makay – Links
Spotify – Tolü Makay https://open.spotify.com/artist/337qYJNRgFq2iddKtqiHDG?si=ikFL53cSSYS6HJjSyw297A
Instagram – Tolü Makay https://www.instagram.com/tolu_makay
Facebook – Tolü Makay https://www.facebook.com/tolumakay
The Greatest Gift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfytfMSFEv4