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Ola Onabulé / Nicolas Meier — Proof of Life
(Rugged Ram RRAMCD016, 2025, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-09-06

Proof of Life Cover art

In my review of Ola Onabulé’s album Point Less (2019) I remarked that his voice might be an acquired taste: “Some listeners may find his voice a bit off-putting at first, rather like Benjamin Clementine without the quirky inflections.” I suppose that saying a singer’s voice is off-putting would normally indicate that they have problems with intonation or tone, but with Onabulé, that is far from the case, as he is technically extremely good. The tone of his voice is smooth and silky, only rarely exhibiting any grit, and his range is outstanding, with a very strong upper register. He often sings as high as Prince’s falsetto, only with a tender tone that doesn’t quite sound like a Classical counter-tenor, but is in the same general area. Over my many decades of listening to music, I’ve often found that singers whose voice initially causes me to back away may end up to be ones I really like. This has happened with Geddy Lee, Peter Hammill, and Bernardo Lanzetti. I don’t know yet if Ola Onabulé will reach that status, but Proof of Life certainly helps. Nicolas Meier is a guitarist we’ve covered a fair amount here, and his skills are apparent all over this album. “Rio de Janeiro” starts off the album quietly, with a sharp focus on a very high vocal melody that seems so polite and mannered that a listener might think they’re in for a snooze-fest. But then the music kicks in, with a tasty latin jazz groove and some very good acoustic guitar work, and a whole new world opens up. “Sorry in the Morning” is the highlight for me, with a great guitar riff featuring both electric and acoustic. This is just a flat-out great song, and puts the rest of the album in a new light. Proof of Life is full of propulsive percussion and exceptional guitar playing. I don’t really know whose voice would be a good reference for Onabulé, but luckily the curious can check out the music online. I’m still not 100% sold, and the album is on the smooth side for my taste, but I can’t deny the quality of the musicianship that went into it, and it continues to grow on me.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Nicolas Meier, Ola Onabulé

More info
http://olaonabule.bandcamp.com/album/proof-of-life

 

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