Top Liner, Session Singer

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: Sam Smith, James Arthur, Boyz II Men, Fred Hammond, Richard Bona, Nathaniel Bassey

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I do a lot of vocal work (my main specialty), production/programming and songwriting.

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I am very proud of the song 'Naa Odey' (uploaded on my profile) for several reasons. I first wrote this song in 2009 and so it had been the one song I always looked forward to recording and recording properly. It took about 7 months to work on the song between November 2017 and June 2018. With the guide vocals on hand I started by hiring a drum programmer to work on the drums at the start. I got some of Ghana's finest instrumentalists (piano, electric guitar and synth/electric bass) across several studios at separate times. This completely took the pressure of the song, allowing the musicians to give their very best to the song. At a separate time I re-took the vocals and sent them for mixing by a dedicated mixing engineer. Most of my other productions typically take 2 professionals to complete (the programmer and mixing engineer) but Naa Odey had several people playing on it. This helped make the song my proudest works yet.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: An African guitar duet ballad I will be releasing soon. I am almost done composing and recording it.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Jonathan Rezin

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog, but digital for now because analog is more expensive.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I will do my very best to give you my best work as though it were my own work.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The fact that I get to make a living off something I enjoy doing, and not something I have to do just to make a living.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: The ease with which I do it. I believe a lot of (not all) people tend to think music in general is a hobby. However I believe that a good musician is the product of years of practice / training.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Are you open to whatsapp/voice calls. - A vocal conversation helps in clarifying text conversations.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: An open, detailed and friendly communication goes a long way. I am quite flexible with effecting my customer's concerns so long as they are communicated in a timely, friendly and effective manner. Apart from that I consider myself easy to work with.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: This is easy.. haha A sound card, laptop, condenser microphone, headphones, sound shield.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started out professionally in 2009 as backing vocalist for one of Ghana's most respected musicians, Kojo Antwi. Meanwhile I had been working on composing and recording commissioned wedding theme songs for renowned weddings across Africa. In 2010 became the front man for a band formed by Craig David's guitarist, Kwame Yeboah called the OBY band. I paused music for a bit to focus on my graphic design business in 2012, but resumed in 2014 when I did covers of some old Ghanaian classic. I released my debut album, Asansa, in February 2017 and my sophomore album, The White Album, in April 2020. In between all of these I have played gigs, released several singles, shot music videos, done radio and TV interviews and done some commissioned work for film soundtracks.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is Afro Pop. So take the very genre that is Pop, put an African spin on it. The African equivalent of Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hill would be my 'Jollof' song in terms of tempo (not concept necessarily). Similarly, the Afro Pop equivalent of Ed Sheeran's song 'Perfect' would be my song entitled Asheasi.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Richard Bona. This man is a legend in my eyes. Firstly, we have similar vocal ranges. Secondly his music perfectly fuses African with global. I would like to learn more about how he does it. Thirdly, his live performances sound exactly like his records. This is something I strive to master daily.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Never force inspiration. Don't do it. If the melodies aren't coming to you, leave it. If the lyrics aren't flowing, don't push it. But once they do come to you, pause everything else and write/compose the HIT out of that song! Extra Tip: Too many takes and you begin to lose the magic in the first take. Sometimes the first take is the best take.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Afrobeats, Afro Pop, World Music, African Music, Gospel Music

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Singing - my tonal precision when it comes to singing the right notes.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring real emotions and this can be heard in my raspy tone. I can sound happy go lucky and upbeat but emotive is my forte. I help to make the lyrics in a song come to life by understanding the lyrics and singing it as though I wrote it myself.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Once I receive the lyrics and melody, I rehearse it for a bit and do some vocal warm-ups. I then get behind my setup and begin laying several takes depending on the song and requirements (this can take between 3 and 5 hours with breaks depending on the song). After which I pick the best options to fine tune manually using a pitch correcter (the pitch correction can take up to 2 hours to complete). Once all is set I submit the best sounding options to you as wave files via WeTransfer

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a sound-proofed / padded home studio within which is a Focusrite sound card and a Scarlette 2i2 microphone with headphones. Additionally I use a microphone shield.