NOT many artists would refer to themselves as “blessed with the gift of dyslexia”, but Wellington-based “poetic philosopher” Bohemian Thought does.
“It took me awhile to accept it, and for a long time I tried to hide from it. But I have to own it; I have to accept that it’s actually a beautiful thing. I find it enhances my abilities, and I wouldn’t be able to write the way I do or see things the way I see them without it,” he says.
Beginning as a spoken word artist, Bohemian has now put his words to music to make an album. The London-born performer is of Nigerian ancestry, and spent several years in Nigeria as a teenager.
“I lived ten minutes away from [musician, afrobeat pioneer, and political and human rights activist] Fela Kuti. My parents protected us from his music when we were young, because he was talking about what was happening in our society, but I would sneak out and go watch him perform. It blew my mind,” he says.
Bohemian went to University in the UK where he studied information systems, and in 2006 moved to New Zealand after he was headhunted for an IT job.
“I haven’t left. New Zealand, especially Wellington, is the place for me to grow spiritually and musically.”
Bohemian’s first single, Seeker, which he’s just finished the video for, is based on his first experiences here.
“When I first arrived I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I found that it wasn’t that straight forward. I was new to the scene, so I was out trying to meet new people and to learn, and I got stuck into that scene of being ‘seen’. You may have a vision, but for things to happen you have to put yourself in a certain place, and I wasn’t where I wanted to be,” he says.
Bohemian moved to Pukerua Bay, spent time writing (“like a hermit”) and watching the sea, and soon found himself in the place he wanted to be. He will release his debut album Magnificent Dyslexic in June.
Bohemian Thought Seeker Video Release, The Paramount Theatre, 8pm, March 6. Free entry.