Award-winning Toronto singer-songwriter Kunlé will release a new double single, “Ilé L’àbo” and “Cabana” on Friday, offering the first glimpse of his upcoming album, Kunlé – The Journey, set for release this year.
The two tracks, he said, point at what he hopes will become “a diasporic anthem for anyone looking for a sense of grounding to know that it’s actually right within them and within the people around them.”
His art moves seamlessly between West African storytelling — grounded in the riddles, chants, and parables he grew up with — and folk and soul influences. “I work in a language that refuses to choose sides,” said Kunlé. With “Ilé L’àbo” and “Cabana,” he continues this with a more elevated Afro-folk style.
“Releasing this double-single feels less like a launch and more like a homecoming,” said Kunlé in a news release.
“Ilé L’àbo” means “home is where the traveler returns to find rest.” Released with a music video filmed on Queen Street West and at the Poetry Jazz Cafe in Toronto, it features Kunlé singing about having lived away from home and longing for an anchor only home can provide. Jazzier than the pieces on his 2015 EP, the track layers rhythmic vocals over a sustained melody, syncopated with piano, guitar and drums to create a warm, toe-tapping groove.
Meanwhile “Cabana,” Kunlé described as a love song rooted in tenderness — the kind of tenderness that comes from waking up beside someone whose presence alone makes the world feel softer. Rich overlapping vocals in English and Yoruba and expanded percussion with steelpans create a celebratory tone, embodying the pure joy of love itself.
For over 10 years Kunlé has captivated audiences with work that draws on Yoruba proverbs and his Nigerian roots, blended with acoustic traditions. With these double singles, he continues to refine what he calls “music with no boundaries.”
He’s accompanied by Stephen San Juan on electric guitar, Thomas Hammerton on piano, Junior Riggan on electric bass, Oluwadamilare Odede on drums, Amado Dedeu Garcia on percussion and Temitayo Ayo on drums.
His 2024 debut at Toronto’s Koerner Hall with South African icon Thandiswa Mazwai marked an important moment for Kunlé’s career, carving out a new path that leads into his next album.
Kunlé – The Journey is a concept album, Kunlé said. Every lyric, he said, touches on the “experiences that have shaped me over time, and of things I’ve done, of things that I’ve seen and things friends have experienced, it all comes together.”
There is no date yet for the release of Kunlé – The Journey but “Ilé L’àbo” and “Cabana,” signal an album set to blend storytelling, performance, and the musical intimacy that Kunlé brings to life.
