Eki Shola

40 tracks. One story. Bringing the new triple album, Dare To Love Free, to life: SF Bay Area, London, and Japan Starting May 16th, Eki Shola is bringing Dare To Love Free to life in a series of intimate, listening sessions across Japan, London, and San Francisco Bay Area. These are unique, intentional experiences designed for deep listening in curated spaces. The heart of this tour is a new, hybrid format: seated sessions where Eki Shola will share the chapters of this 40-track journey through the original studio compositions, featuring an evolving live presence. At various stops, she will be providing live piano and/or vocal accompaniment to the tracks, while other sessions will focus purely on the atmospheric listening experience. www.ekishola.com Musician, composer and physician, Eki Shola, is originally from London but now calls both the San Francisco Bay Area and Japan home. Her latest album 還 Kaeru was recorded predominantly with local Japanese talents such as drummer Hidenori Tsugita, shamisen and shakuhachi virtuoso Uma Ebina, and Mongolian Morin Khuur maestro Tatsuya Okabayashi. This fifth album represents a captivating mix of traditional Japanese instrumentation with electro jazz elements. Kaeru, translating to “to return home,” delves into themes of belonging and self-identity, inspired by Eki Shola’s extensive global travels and personal reflections. Drawing from her encounters in Hiroshima, Lisbon, and Addis Ababa, Shola finds a deep resonance with Japan, a connection rooted in her initial visit two decades ago as a medical student. Collaborating with local talents and recording at Studio Tepemok, a former community hospital, Eki Shola intricately weaves cultural and personal narratives into her music. Beyond genre confines, Eki Shola’s music encompasses jazz, electronica, soul, and more, reflecting her multifaceted artistry as a vocalist and pianist. As a practicing physician, she skillfully employs music as a means of healing, a role she’s embraced wh