Her first album, 'S'owa Oka?' (Are You Okay?), is the latest step on a career marked by chance encounters and comes from the stable of producer and talent hunter Samuel Kayode, who first came across her in May at the Lagos studio of state-owned EKO-FM radio.

"When he heard some of my songs, he said 'Oh! This is what I was looking for: a woman artiste and this kind of music' and we started straight from there", Feyi said.

Kayode, a Nigerian who had lived in London since 1979, returned to Nigeria two decades later to produce an album "Original Afrobeat and the sound of Nigeria in the 90's", a collection of notable jazz, Afrobeat and Highlife musicians.

Of Feyi's first disc, he said: "We recorded her album in three months because I am living in Europe so when I am in Nigeria, I do what I need to do about my project.

"I find her a very talented artiste."

"Highlife was made in west Africa. This music is powerful, it is the mother, roots of all other in west Africa," Kayode said.

Before their fortuitous meeting, Feyi Bada was looking out to be engaged in the chorus on a new album being worked on by Nigerian ace drummer Tony Allen, who played with Fela, and Damon Albarn, from Blur.

Feyi said Albarn "had so much interest in the kind of music I play, especially because of its African stuff. I play Highlife and traditional folklore and it is like this that all started."

Popularised in the 1960-70s by Fela, Highlife spread like wildfire in Africa. Fela got his inspiration from this rhythm from Ghana to create Afrobeat, which won swift world recognition.

When Fela died in August 1997, other artistes took over the baton, including his two sons, Femi and his younger brother Seun.

Femi, a saxophonist, has won several international awards including the prestigious African continental KORA award.

On stage, Feyi Bada is a talent bubbling with youthful enthusiasm. At the French Cultural Centre in Lagos, where she launched her album, the young musician, composer and singer, accompanied by her group Sweet Soul, conquered the spectators with an electrifying performance.

She debuted the show with the song 'S'owa Okay?', which gives its Yoruba name to the disc. Yoruba, mostly spoken in southwest Nigeria, is one of the three main languages in the country.

"It's talk about peace, we should be in harmony with each other, husband and wife", said Feyi, whose full name is Feyisola Bada.

Though she sings all her numbers in Yoruba, Feyi is hopeful that the album will reach an international market.

After a series of concerts in Lagos, the musician also hopes to appear next year in European music festivals, notably in France, Great Britain and Belgium.

In a way, Feyi Bada, born in Lagos, is following the footsteps of her late father, a pastor who wrote and produced a repertoire of songs for his church.

Alex Abiodun Bada, who died about three years ago, was the supreme world head of the Celestial Church of Christ, a congregation which has followers in more than 50 countries.

Feyi Bada was not only born into music, she also directed a choir and was educated at the polytechnic college in southwest Ibadan city where she bagged a diploma certificate in 2002.