Anendlessocean ‘Decagon' is spiritual intimacy repetitively personified with contagious intent.
Two years after the release of his first body of work - ‘Apeirogon’, a lot has changed in the trajectory of Ali Hakeem Ayobami ‘‘Anendlessocean’ including Mass appeal, ownership of narratives which is that his identity is shaped by his aura and belief which transcends the constraints and restrictions of genres, labels, and other artistic boundaries, and even intricacies like stage presence and online persona.
‘Decagon’ is his first studio album released on the 18th of August. The eleven track album according to him is his heart in plain sight, Joy with a scar of pain, adrenaline from dancing in the rain and every battle that has been won.
THE STARTER
Anendlessocean climbs the first out of eleven steps with “Life Not Borrowed (LNB)” riding on serving a God who is certain about being fatherly towards him, in a world filled with uncertainties.
The choral arrangement that is sung mostly in Yoruba, beautifully captures the irrevocable calmness that God provides.
His life is not borrowed, because it was paid for fully on the cross.
“When I’m up you are my spiral, you are my backbone my spinal” are popular quotables to ‘JI’ one of the four prereleased singles off the album.
It’s about the purity of an irreplaceable budding relationship regardless of prevailing circumstances.
Anendlessocean is known mostly for making you introspective; swoon in the loving capacity of the father, but when he makes danceable music, it can make you dance so hard. ‘Bire’ is that track.
Even while dancing to it, it was written to make you ponder on the dynamics of the love-love linkage he has with God.
The Challenge that was created for ‘Alone’ achieved one purpose - make his fanbase not feel secluded. You could tell this by the number of entries for the challenge.
For a generation that uses the phrase ‘souled out’ generously, ‘Alone’ is the perfect anthem for that representation.
In perhaps one of his most ‘daring’ expressions second to being shirtless on the cover of ‘Exchange’, ‘What we have’ is a perfect love song, only that the lyrics depict a man whose relationship with God has gone through notable seasons of depth.
Aided by a whisper like instrumental, Anendlessocean asserts that all he has with God is real, true and he would be a fool to let go of all that.
In 33 seconds Ibquake gives a short but spirited charge on ‘Ibquake’s interlude’.
‘Decagon’ finds it bearing again on ‘IMI’ which is presumably short for the Yoruba translation of a freedom-loving and free-spirited individual - ‘IMIsioluwa’
It’s this dimension of God that satisfies him utmostly. Here is the God he has found and he needs no other one to supplement.
Young Christians usually pray for the grace to burn passionately for their maker. It’s the same sentiments that Anendlessocean shares, but he expresses it so colourfully with the choice of parlance on ‘Wildfire’.
With the essence of a dancehall track, Anendlessocean wants a ‘present and forever’ type of love that comes from within and is visible to others. Here is a man who wants to burn wildly and let the world come see him in flames.
‘Exchange’ makes up the closing sides to ‘Decagon’. released last year, it touches on the subject of a substitutionary type of love. With a similar baseline to that of Buchi ‘It is well’ classic, Anendlessocean wants it all.
With the solemnity that accompanies hymns, Anendlessocean convincingly captures the depth of God’s omnipresent; The God in the heat, fire, water, deep, thick and thin on ‘Imagine’
It’s on these terms that he confesses he really cannot do life without him. Can you imagine that?
Every story they say has three sides, Anendlessocean has eleven sides to him and the eleventh side is called ‘Nazarene’.
Inarguably, his most popular song so far. It’s filled with a lot of shakes and amapiano aesthetics. It’s not a song essentially about legalism, at least as the title connotes in the context of Samson in the Bible. It’s about the incomparable ease that God can engineer in a man who’s yielded to his leadings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The core fans of Anendlessocean would be young Christians who have had a ‘through the fire relationship’ with God - tested, approved and trusted where their dealings with God have been so comforting yet so convicting, so that the opinions of others about their walk with him, leave little or no impression.
The other fanbase are the ones who have a riotous background and dare say, currently rebellious history with God, but still have the Holy Spirit doing a subtle work on their hearts. For them, Anendlessocean music would always connect.
Anendlessocean is one the fewest artists to sing about the same thing, but hard to presume it because of the depth of his pen. The ability to show off his vast lyrical vocabulary is pretty stand-out in this space.
On this debut album, he’s specific about the intimacy he shares with God and that’s all there is to the album. But it’s how he does it - approach to delivery, song titling and general maverick disposition.
It’s a solid project, for a debut album, but might not be for a sophomore. Arrangements specifically during the closing three tracks could have been thoughtful. Ideally, the older songs should have been sandwiched in between the new ones on the album.
Most importantly, the longevity of this album would be tied to how ‘out of the shell’ Anendlessocean decides to become.
Would his lax outlook also reflect in the promotion of this body of work?
Would the apparent change with the promotion of ‘Alone’ trickle down to the entirety of the Decagon album?
These are the questions. We have witnessed Apeirogon and now Decagon, which side would he be showing next?
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