I went to South Korea this spring and took a trip to Busan because the island girl and water sign baby that I am always yearn to be by the sea. The inbound travel and first day of my itinerary ended up being more tiring than expected but I was very adamant to visit the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, a Buddhist temple right along the shore. It was a whole other journey to get there but once I reached one of the sideview points, greeted by the spiritual silence hidden between the waves, I let my tears kiss the grains of salt that the brisk wind sprinkled on my cheeks. And here and then, I knew I was where I was supposed to be. I felt held, safe enough to release all the stress, the fatigue, the anger and the sorrow buried inside me. It was heavy, it was painful but it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
I experienced something similar over 10 years ago. Sitting all alone in the grandeur of Monument Valley, overwhelmed with both gratitude and sadness, I suddenly felt compelled to pray (I found out when I came back that one of my childhood friends had died that very same day). And I’m now finding relief again in wordsofAzia‘s transcending debut Glory.
My first listen of Glory stopped the time and took my breath away the same way the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple did. I can’t quite explain it but as soon as I heard wordsofAzia’s guitar and humming taking me into the unknown depths of my heart, all the emotions came crashing down over me like a wave. It will break you only to rebuild you with a more tender and resilient heart. The song lasts just 2min36, yet is enough to transform the sadness into a glimpse of hope. So you press play, again and again, to continue to catch and collect the glimpses while the one and unique verse repeats itself, like a quiet comforting mantra, intertwined in the middle with her French poetry. It’s a meditative and healing experience to say the least, and I believe the only other voice that made me feel that way recently would be Gaidaa (especially her transit collab with Moby and her latest release Something True). “I wrote this one in a little room in London, she explains. Feeling God’s presence and grateful of what I get to experience on this glorious journey. His blessings deserves to be shared and in the darkest time, WE have a mission to keep bringing light into this world.”
Describing herself as a “child of the world doing things with intention”, wordsofAzia finds her roots in Ivory Coast and delicately blends spirituality and culture in her music to unify people. Lagô, a new single featuring her mother, is already on the rise, to be unveiled on July 4 and to be pre-saved here. But in the meantime, I really wanted to introduce you to this very special gem that touched my soul, and her stunning visuals directed by Tendaji who shot all the sequences without a plan, spontaneously exploring Dakar on a motorcycle. “I just followed the path that was opening up in front of me without resistance. I felt like a vessel, and I still do every time I sing it”, wordsofAzia confides. And this is exactly how you should listen to it: with an open heart.
