Canadian-born, Ireland-based singer-songwriter Ndidi O returns with one of the most personal records of her career, It’s About Time. Recorded in County Cork with a collective of Irish musicians, the album finds the acclaimed roots artist leaning deeper into the emotional intersection of blues, folk, and Irish traditional music while reflecting on themes of ageing, migration, belonging, and resistance.

In this conversation, she opens up about the turning point behind It’s About Time, the realities of ageing, the political urgency behind songs like “Down This Road,” and why friendship, resilience, and storytelling remain at the heart of her work.

Below, Ndidi O reflects on the making of the album and the experiences that shaped it.

Congrats on your new release. First of all, who is Ndidi O?

Ndidi O: Oh, starting with the hard ones. Well, in a professional capacity, I am an award-winning roots/blues/folk singer-songwriter and lover of live performances. In a regular capacity, I am a perimenopausal, cat-loving, trip-hop-opera-writing theoretical expert on the gas dragons of Saturn (seriously, look at the most recent images of Saturn; you will see them!). All in all, “Ndidi O” is a person who tries to bring light and be helpful in an everyday capacity in any way she can.

It’s About Time is being called a major turning point in creativity. After five solo albums, what feels different about this version of Ndidi O?

Ndidi O: Well, I am in perimenopause, which has meant I have slowly become invisible, so you can learn a lot when no one sees you, and without any kind of pressure or expectation, I took my time and really wrote music for myself unencumbered.

The album arrives alongside three nominations at the Canadian Blues Music Awards. How does it feel to be recognized at this stage of your career, especially with such a personal body of work?

Ndidi O: It feels amazing to be acknowledged by my peers, and I hope to make many more new peers and friends in the Irish music scene. Being a songwriter can be an isolating, lonely journey, and in today’s digital age, sometimes it feels like I am throwing music into a giant black hole. So to get a little head nod from my peers is amazing and makes me feel less alone and seen, which I appreciate so very much.

This record feels rooted in place, particularly in County Kerry and Cork. How has living in Ireland reshaped your songwriting and sense of identity?

Ndidi O: Ireland is my new home, and I am so grateful to call it home. It is the first place in my entire life that I have felt safe and accepted, and so now I look forward to contributing to my new home in any way possible. There are a lot of similarities between Irish trad music and trad blues and folk created by African Americans; there are similar cadences and melodies and use of phrasings, so I hope that I was able to marry the two on this album as my way of giving love to this country I call home.

“Young One” addresses perimenopause. What gave you the courage to speak so plainly about that experience?

Ndidi O: I am not sure if it is courageous to talk about this stage in a woman’s life, but it is where I am at, and any woman in this transition understands we are in a war with our bodies, society, our doctors, the whole lot, and so this album and this song in particular are my battle cry and hopefully a signal to other women letting them know they are seen, loved and not alone. This transition is LONELY, and NO ONE WARNS YOU. I mean, thankfully, we are talking about it more now, but not so much in music. As a writer, I write to connect and to not feel alone so that is what spurred me on to write this song.

“Down This Road” confronts genocide, displacement, and moral failure. What responsibility do you feel as an artist when addressing these issues?

Ndidi O: I have been writing about the failures of humanity for two decades now. It is the one thing that plagues me the most. I have AUDHD (autism and ADHD) and so my pattern recognition has been firing up my whole life and I cannot fathom how we live on a beautiful precious planet and we waste time being greedy, destroying it and hating each other for no real reason aside from stupidity, so I write about it because I keep hoping maybe one day we will wake up and make a different choice. At my most recent concert I asked the audience why we keep making the worst possible choices constantly, and after the show, an amazing audience member said to me, “That is because humans think we are separate from everything else. We do not truly understand that we are made of stardust and are as much a part of the trees and grass as we are of our own skin. We are all connected and linked, and we would be wise to remember that.”

Your versions of “She Moved Through The Fair” and “Green Valleys” are stunning. What made you want to bridge the gap between Irish traditional music and the blues?

Ndidi O: As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of similarities between the two genres in terms of themes, melodies, and use of voices. I often write spirituals, as my voice is my primary instrument, and the Sean-nós (Irish for “old style”) style of singing, like “She Moves Through the Fair”, would be the Irish form of a spiritual, so it just made sense. As for Green Valleys, well, it is a song about being forced to migrate due to the devastation of colonisation, which we see happening again, and it spoke to me very deeply as an immigrant and Canadian who is a child of immigrants. I have been seeing a disturbing uptick in little “Ireland for the Irish” protests, and I think it is ridiculous and foolish, and this song is a reminder of what it means to move from your home into the unknown in the hopes of creating a better life. We are stronger together. I hope I have done justice to both.

“Old Crones” directly challenges ageism in music. What kind of artistic longevity are you hoping to model for younger artists?

Ndidi O: I hope that younger artists and older artists see that dreams don’t have deadlines and that older women remember and recognise the power they hold when they have transitioned into sovereign women. Also, that life is NOT over just because your uterus has no purpose anymore. We are so much more than our reproductive value, and it’s time we ran the show.

“Come On Home” is one of the album’s most tender moments. What does friendship mean to you at this stage of your life?

Ndidi O: Friendship is the most important thing to me, and we do not celebrate our friendships as much as we should. This song I wrote for my best friend of twenty-five years. She is the love of my life and my family, and this song is my way of saying thank you. I love you, and I will be your port in the storm earthside, and even if I should pass before her, I will be her light in the other realms. We should celebrate and honour our platonic relationships much more than we do.

Which artists influenced or inspired this project? Hmm, that is a great question, and honestly, I guess the Wolf Tones a bit and then my grandmother, also director Janicza Bravo, who is a fearless visionary that just gets out there and does interesting work.

What does “resilience” mean to you, and how is it portrayed on the album?

Ndidi O: In every song, listen.

Any Dream Collab?

Ndidi O: My dream collabs would be, first off, Kneecap; then Enya, and finally, I would like to work with my pal Allison Russell again.

What do you hope listeners carry with them after the final track fades out?

Ndidi O: I hope the listener feels calm, soothed, and like they are bathed in love. I want to make music that calms the nervous system and gives the listener a break from the horrors.

What’s Next: Shows, Tours, or More Releases?

Ndidi O: Next is a tour in Ontario, Canada, then hopefully some Ireland dates (I will update that on my website once they are confirmed). Then I will be presenting my trip-hop opera “An Army of Invisible Women” and finally writing and recording a classic country album.

Message to fans and readers

Ndidi O: Thank you for reading this far and for listening to me. I write from a place of love for you, the listener, the reader, and I hope you keep working towards your own dreams and look for the small joys and kindnesses in life. You are important, you matter, you are seen, you are loved, and you are never alone.

Thank you so very much for these wonderful questions. I appreciate you!! Ndidi O!