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This month finds British-Nigerian soul-jazz singer/songwriter/producer Ola Onabule impressively delivering his seventh independently-released album “Seven Shades Darker.” Which – written, performed and produced by Ola himself at his own Bedford-based Casa Del Phunque studio and featuring live brass input from the UK-based “Atlantic Horns” – is currently being pioneered by the mellow, undulating groove of its midtempo offshoot single “Be A Man.”

Indeed, fronted distinctively by Ola’s hauntingly emotive vocals, the 14-track set finds him combining classic late-Sixties/early-Seventies soul influences with African-rooted melodies and jazz-tinged phrasing while lyrically blending intelligent social commentary with a folk-influenced personal intimacy. As subjects covered range from such emotive topics as jealousy (the punchy “Swinging Wide”) and the passing of loved ones (the sombre “He’s Gone”) to more politically-charged issues like loss of identity (the downtempo ‘A Name’) and immigration (the surging “Great Expectations”).

Born in London in March 1964, at seven years old Ola would nevertheless move to his parents’ homeland of Nigeria before, at 17, returning to the UK to study. Becoming obsessed with funk and fusion music, and in particular the work of Stevie Wonder, it was in fact while reading for a Law Degree – which he never completed – that Onabule first began writing his own songs and performing in and around London.

All of which would eventually see him signing a short-lived record-deal with the Warner-affiliated Elektra label, before ultimately releasing his debut LP “More Soul Than Sense” in 1994 through his own independent Rugged Ram label. Since which time Ola has impressively continued to release all his albums independently via Rugged Ram, while simultaneously building an ever-growing reputation internationally for his soul-charged live shows. Which has in turn found him performing at some of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals and concert halls (including the main stage of the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2009 as well as the Victoria Jazz Festival in British Columbia in 2010) while at the same time sharing stages with some of the globe’s most acclaimed jazz and soul artists – ranging from Al Jarreau and Dianne Reeves to the likes of Roberta Flack, Natalie Cole and Gladys Knight.

… All of which in turn brings us back to today. As an ever-affable Mr. Onabule reacquaints himself with ‘Blues & Soul’ Assistant Editor Pete Lewis over lunchtime drinks at the West End’s swish’n’trendy Sanderson Hotel to discuss his aforementioned new LP “Seven Shades Darker” (his first since 2007’s acclaimed “The Devoured Man”) as well as his impressive longevity as an internationally-recognised independent British soul artist.

PETE: What was the reason behind titling your new, seventh album ‘Seven Shades Darker’?

OLA: “Well, to me the number seven in itself has got a kind of powerful, symbolic, almost Biblical feel to it – you know, seven brothers and seven brides, etc. And so, with this happening to be my seventh album, I was like ‘This is actually quite SIGNIFICANT, because seven albums in this day and age is quite a RARITY’… Which in turn made me suddenly start to consider, and look back on, what I’d already DONE. You know, despite the fact I’m normally a very forward-looking person who tends to be fixed on the thing I’m about to do next, I suddenly started thinking back to how I used to feel when I first started OUT. And what I realised from that was, compared to all that positivity and ‘I’m gonna change the world’-type youthful exuberance I had when I made my FIRST album (“More Soul Than Sense”) back in ’94, these days – while still remaining positive – I do have a much more realistic, pragmatic and objective view of the world, of my place IN it, and of what I can ACHIEVE… So yeah, when it came to choosing a title for this album it just seemed like “Seven Shades Darker” was an appropriate way of describing where I am as an artist, as well as describing the content of the actual SONGS.”

PETE: Your decision to bring on board the UK-based Atlantic Horns (trombonist Mike Kearsey; tenor sax-player Mark Brown; trumpeter Joe Auckland) for several of the album’s key tracks has certainly helped augment the sound this time round…

OLA: “Well, because these are hard times financially, when I started writing this album my intention was to write a record that would be very easy to move AROUND.

You know, because we do a lotta gigs all over the world, I was almost cynically thinking of something that would be easily kind of TRANSPORTABLE… But then, as the album developed, what I realised was that the songs I was writing one after the other were actually these multi-layered things that – in order to expressed properly – would need a bigger palette than your basic drums/bass/guitar/keys set-up. And, though my first thought was to get strings, I also at the same time realised you obviously can’t travel around with a symphonic orchestra and that to use keyboard-generated strings instead wouldn’t sound AUTHENTIC… And so it was at that point that brass basically suggested ITSELF! You know, because it’s obviously worked so well in a live setting for all those Stax/Philly/Motown bands over the years, I was like ‘Yes! Brass is definitely what we NEED!’! And, because I specifically wanted that old skool brass kind of sound, I knew straightaway that The Atlantic Horns were the guys FOR it!”

PETE: With you now having a strong international live presence, what have been some of your own personal performing highlights?

OLA: “Oh, there’ve been so MANY! I mean, the Montreal Jazz Festival was AMAZING. Because I was essentially opening the stage for Stevie Wonder, who was performing the next NIGHT. Which, with it being the most prestigious jazz festival in the world, is just a remarkable kind of thing to have on the CV… Plus there’ve also been some really UNUSUAL ones. Like playing in Germany with the Babelsberg Symphony Orchestra, which is the Number One orchestra for playing FILM music. You know, they normally just work with people like A.R. Rahman – the Indian Bollywood composer who did “Slumdog Millionaire” – or Hans Zimmer. And what actually happened there was that someone passed them my album, and they literally said ‘WOW! This music already HAS a cinematic feel to it! Why don’t we invite him over and put on a CONCERT?’!… So we ended up doing this sold-out concert in this 10,000-seater AUDITORIUM! And to hear my humble little tunes that I’d written in my home studio being played by this 30-piece orchestra was just an incredible EXPERIENCE!… Then another great one I guess was playing at The Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC with all these distinguished members of the American seat of power present and listening, on a stage that had previously hosted people like Pavarotti, Jessie Norman… You know, to find yourself in these amazing places that you’d never have imagined yourself in is just so SURREAL! It’s like ‘What am I DOING here? I used to live in a bedsit in BRIXTON! What’s going ON?’!… Which I guess at the end of the day is the beauty of this job that I’m doing!”

Ola’s album “Seven Shades Darker” is out now on Rugged Ram Records.

For more of Ola Onabule’s fascinating interview with B&S Pete Lewis click below to order your copy of B&S magazine..