The Artist Behind the Sound
Olamide Phillips Olaniyan — a Nigerian-born, UK-based Afro-fusion artist, multi-instrumentalist, participatory artist and creative facilitator. Ten years and more of live performance, blending saxophone, Yoruba percussion, piano, vocals and storytelling.
Music becomes art when it creates memories, and becomes culture when everyone becomes part of it.
Olamide Sax
The story begins in 2010, in Yoruba percussion. Olamide first found his voice on the cord/omele, the djembe, the talking drum, the omele bàtá and the ìyá ìlù bàtá — learning to speak in rhythm before he ever reached for melody.
That grounding in the pulse of home became the foundation for everything that followed. Before he was a saxophonist, he was a percussionist — and the drum still keeps time under every phrase he plays.
Over more than a decade, the percussionist grew into a multi-instrumentalist. Saxophone, vocals and keyboard joined the rhythm, and a sound took shape: warm, improvisational Afro-fusion that fuses African rhythm with soulful melody.
Live improvisation is at the centre of the craft — the horn carrying the breath, the voice telling the story, the keys holding the harmony. Three voices, one performer.
The work has carried Olamide across the UK’s stages — from concert halls and theatres to festivals and community spaces. He led live saxophone through the record-breaking World Record Football Scarf Procession with Stand & Be Counted Theatre, brought live Afro-fusion to the Eco Art Fashion Show, and performed with Sound Café’s Afrobeat ensemble at Sharrow Festival.
He opened on saxophone in ÀTÙPÀ at CAST as Adigun, performed at BME United Doncaster and before the Lord Mayor of Sheffield — each a room held by the same ancestral breath.
Beyond the stage, Olamide works as a participatory artist and creative facilitator — creating workshops that combine music, wellbeing, storytelling, memory work and community participation. He collaborates with leading UK cultural organisations including Stand & Be Counted Theatre, darts & Maya Productions and ArtBomb UK.
Every performance begins with music. It ends with connection. His performances invite people to dance; his workshops invite people to participate; his practice invites people to belong. In 2026 he was named Best Instrumentalist of the Year at the Eko Heritage Awards.
The next movement is still being written. To follow it, see the full timeline or let’s create something meaningful.
Roles & Affiliations
Theatre Credits
The Invitation
Available for festivals, theatre productions, concerts, participatory arts, creative health projects, cultural events and workshops — UK & international.
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