Words by Art Jefferson
Images courtesy of Lady Vendredi
If Nwando Ebizie appears to be unlike any other artist out here today, it’s because she’s not. The musician, producer, dancer, DJ and performance artist is more like a renaissance woman whose experimental presentations have dazzled audiences not only in theatres but have also captured the ears of tastemakers like Gilles Peterson. Working under the moniker of Lady Vendredi, her work is a clashing of culture and sound topped with a dressing of afro-futurism.
Trained as a classical pianist, Lady Vendredi flies with the freedom of an eagle, erasing any restrictions of genre, creating mash-ups of bass-filled electronica which incorporates rhythms spanning from Nigeria to Haiti on down to more modern British sounds. Songs like ‘Papa Legba’ has a ritualistic feel whilst the rumbles of percussion create a trance-like effect on the listener. When she sings out “People think I’m crazy, but I know they are lazy” on her track ‘Glided Splinters’, it can be taken as more of a siren for artists who fear pushing the boundaries of creativity, whilst Ebizie stands firm like a high priestess of sorts. Again, she is nothing like any act out today.
Lady Vendredi’s artistic freedom shines in full vibrancy on stage, having brought her performance piece The Passion of Lady Vendredi to Soho Theatre in Central London. What appeared to be a wild ride down the rabbit hole of unconventionalism , challenging perception, sexuality and normality, the flamboyant play even forced critics to unravel their typical train of thoughts on reviews, as many couldn’t place the performance in one specific category. The cult-like visuals if anything, depicted Lady Vendredi in full-on optimal status, spreading her creative wings as far as she could to soar.
Lady Vendredi is an artist who will always keep fans and critics wondering what her next move will be, but like previous icons such as Grace Jones or even a Madonna, this is a part of the brilliance that comes with any perceived weirdness.
Talk about your beginnings in theatre. Was that interest sparked as a youth and when did you first begin performing?
Lady Vendredi – My strongest sensorial first memories of theatre weren’t actually about performing, they were about being in the theatre in the afternoon when no one else was about. Feeling the ghosts in the space, the air thick with potential. I found it intoxicating. I used to be a little dancing girl in pantomimes from the age of 10. I’d get time off school and get to go and perform every night with soap stars from Coronation St. But yeah, it was those moments in between, being backstage, being in empty auditoriums that excited me. The space between the suspended realities.
You were trained as a classical pianist. When delving into more experimental sounds, do you almost have to unlearn the formalities of your classical studies to freely create without any restrictions?
Lady Vendredi – Yes I think I’ve just enough classical training to not be at all brilliant or fluent, but to be very stuck in standard western formalas of cadences and counterpoint. But in another way its just a case of being open and honest with the feelings going through my being whilst dancing or moving or dreaming – if I can transform these into music then I’m happy. In general I can’t. Its a life’s work. So I don’t think training can ever really get in the way of things if you’re constantly searching for honesty.
There are various elements that make up your stage show and presence, but one of those in my opinion would be bits of afro-futurism. Do you draw inspiration from the writers such as Octavia Butler at all?
Lady Vendredi – Oh man I love Octavia Butler, she’s a massive inspiration of mine. Her, T S Elliot, Angela Carter, Ben Okri, Chinua Achebe and Philip K Dick I’d say are the fragments I shore against my ruins.
As someone who operates within multiple mediums, does it get hard to juggle all hats or is it like a selected weapon specific to the battle per se?
Lady Vendredi – YES! Once more unto the breach! It’s really hard though – I’ve worked with such amazing artists and I get jealous of the depth they can achieve when you focus in on one art form. But I’ve got to accept what my practise is – and it is multidisciplinary and I can also draw a certain strength from that. I think a good model might be the archetypal southern American preacher – they are orators, writers, musicians, singers, storytellers, intuitive and learned readers of masses of people, researchers, leaders, ecstatic transformers etc.
In terms of writing, when putting together a show do you first come up with ideas for your songs as a recording artist and then let that manifest into bits that will make it into the show, or do you specifically focus on the ideas for the stage and then embed the musical aspect into it?
Lady Vendredi – It works both ways round. There is a layering of rhythms and mythology from various influences with a constant reimagining of old ritual dances that all feeds back into the writing process. The EP is a dip into some of the ideas from the show.
As someone who is creatively liberated, how do you manage to not fall victim to the traps of modern trends like so many artists have?
Lady Vendredi – Ooo like what? It just doesn’t really enter my head to do things in the way that other people do them. I mean – which artist thinks – I’m going to make a ritual transformative gig-theatre-piece with 10 performers and at the same time self release a 12inch EP. And the thing is, even though it almost killed me to do it, I couldn’t tell you how I could do it differently. I make work the way I do because I have to.
Your show The Passion of Lady Vendredi ran at Soho Theatre until the 30th of April. How would you describe it?
Lady Vendredi – A transformative journey into the Wild Womans Psyche…
http://www.nwandoebizie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LadyVendredi
https://twitter.com/ladyvendredi
http://www.mas-productions.org/
http://ladyvendredi.bandcamp.com/