Over 3 decades ago, Peter One was a STAR, a country music star, in West Africa, specifically. With his singing partner Jess Sah Bi, Peter played to sold out arenas. In 1985 the release of Our Garden Needs Its Flowers, launched the two Ivory Coast musicians into regional stardom across greater West Africa. Now working on his own, Peter One emigrated to the US to further his music career, eventually settling right here in Nashville where he’s worked as a nurse for twenty years.

He returns to the music scene with Come Back To Me, ‘a unique blend of Afro-pop and 60s and 70s influenced country-folk soundtracks. The album was co-produced (alongside Peter One) and engineered by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, John Prine) and features some of Nashville’s finest musicians including Pat Sansone (Wilco), Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo), Paul Niehaus (Calexico), and more.  The result is a heartfelt collection of folk songs sung in English, French and Guro, sharing tales of painful divorce, love and loss, as well as reflecting on concepts of the healing power of music, diaspora, immigration and home.

And as anyone who hears the first ebullient, inviting notes of “Cherie Vico” on Peter’s new album will surely tell you, Peter One has once again arrived, and he has brought with him a set of songs that might just transport their listeners to new vistas, new moods, and new modes of experience, because they are the reflection of Peter’s own unpredictable, ever-surprising journey. There is a joyfulness that emanates from so many of the tracks which seems boundless, though even Peter is hard-pressed to account for the source of that joy:

“You know, some scientists, or philosophers, or psychologists,” he says jokingly, “they say that as humans we live several lives, and maybe in a previous life I came across this kind of music—I don’t know. But I really love the way that music is expressed through folk music—all kinds of folk music are really touching to me.”

Also reflective of that immigrant’s journey—again, a resolutely American tale, in more ways than one (Peter became an American citizen in 2008)— is his desire for the quality of his work, his music, to shine through first, whether he sings in Guro, English or French.’

The debut single from the album, “Birds Go Die Out Of Sight (Don’t Go Home),” features Allison Russell and it explores the complex story of yearning to return home as an immigrant.

Come Back to Me is available to order here on standard black vinyl and CD.

Orders for local / curbside pick-up are available as of Friday, May 5th.

Preorders for mail order will ship out from Grimey’s starting Saturday, 5/6.

Track Listing
1. Cherie Vico
2. Kavudu
3. Ejie
4. Staring Into The Blues
5. Sweet Rainbow
6. On My Own
7. La Petite
8. Je E Moi Le Piano
9. Bonne Annee
10. Birds Go Die Out Of Sight