Were it not for lockdown, we may never have got to hear this remarkable live album by vocalist and songwriter Somi. Invited by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band to perform with them in May 2019 for a radio broadcast from Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Somi hadn’t planned to release the recording. And yet, when she listened back to the concert during lockdown and found that it “comforted me in a deeply visceral way”, she felt compelled to do so. Exploring music from her previous two releases, The Lagos Music Sa¡on (2014), and the award-winning Petite Afrique (2017), from the atmospheric album opener ‘Kadiatou the Beautiful’ to the almost hymnic incantations of the concluding title track, the way in which Somi pours her entire heart and soul into the performance with such a profound depth of feeling ensures that the music pours forth with a rich arterial force. Enveloped by the thrilling sound of the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with beautiful arrangements courtesy of conductor John Beasley, whether it's the dramatic ‘Black Enough’, the Afrobeat-inspired ‘Lady Revisited’ or the hypnotic ‘Ingele’, performed in Swahili and taken from her 2007 album, Red Soil In My Eyes, Somi tells her stories with an unforced brilliance. For this, her first time performing with a big band, Somi is also joined by her long-standing collaborators, Senegalese guitarist Hervé Samb and Japanese pianist Toru Dodo, both of whom make captivating contributions throughout.