By Simeon Mpamugoh
A group of like-minded sound engineers recently gathered at the Lagos State Ministry of Youth And Social Development Playground, Fola Jinadu Crescent, Gbagada to relax and unwind with stakeholders in the entertainment industry.
Chief Host, Aigbovo Giwa Osagie, noted that the gathering, which happened to be the first in Lagos state, was done in collaboration with some ancillary service providers in the financial and sound engineering sector, who were also present to acquaint members of their services and array of equipment.
According to him, “The stakeholders are the people who sell to us the gears that we use, while the financial service providers help us with facilities to procure the equipment. Some of our equipment are very expensive. For instance, a mixing console (mixer) today costs more than N10 million. So, this is an interactive wedlock of buyers and sellers, which I anchored for mutual benefits. We have on this maiden edition the new and old generations of sound engineers, who have been doing well in the act of recording, mixing and mastering sounds.”
Osagie, who has spent more than 30 years in the industry, disclosed that the event was organised to meet and know each other, and how sound engineers in Lagos state can improve on their art in a fun-filled atmosphere.
For him, sound engineering started as a hobby, but today he has turned out great and self-subsistent that he can live comfortably on it.
“It has always been sound all the way for me. I left school and my mom told me to go look for work. I did summer job in the Ministry of Health and after that I came back and by the grace of God, I have been on it since early 1990s. I went into it and created my own peculiar way of doing it and it worked well for me.
“When I started, I found out that others were working for artistes. I was the only freelance sound engineer around then. I took a decision not to work for anyone and it kept me together and got me to so many places. So, this event aims to create a united front of sound engineers. We need a core group of sound engineers with their line of business defined so that when people are talking to us, they’ll know they are talking to a group of people with knowledge of what they are doing.
“Abroad, sound engineering is someone’s job, but in Nigeria everybody is a sound engineer, which is wrong. We have the electrician, backstage and stage technicians. Everybody has his own line of duty. We need to break it down to parts so that everybody will know the differences for proper identification and respect,” he stated.
Asked about the A-list artistes he has backed off stage, Osagie responded: “I have backed the sounds of King Sunny Ade, Femi Anikulapo Kuti, Lagbaja, Shina Peters, Sunny Neji and many others. Of all these artistes, it was only with King Sunny Ade that I spent three years; the rest was on part-time basis. I was with King Sunny Ade from 1995-1998. And I travelled the world with him.
“I was equally behind the sounds of some top concerts in Nigeria such as The Experience, Lagos Countdown, Benson and Hedges’ Golden Tones, NBplc’s Star Music Trek etc. I have a wide experience in concerts. And we hope these concerts make a comeback with the fun loving people of Nigeria because it helped us grow. Sound engineers are the ones that own the best seats in the house. We do shows, sound and light. We are the ones seeing, hearing, and controlling everything that is done on stage. So, it is time for the person who owns the best seat in the house to be seen and respected.”
On piracy, Osagie said: “There is nothing anyone can do about it other than to allow it thrive and help some artistes do better. A pirated work means that the work is good. Once we form our group, we will hold every professional accountable. We are going to set up a standard and anyone who fails to apply himself to the rules and regulations of the body, will not work with us.”
He noted that the future of Nigerian sound engineers is very bright, recalling how Precious Taiwo emerged as Burna Boy’s sound engineer.
“Precious Taiwo was born and brought up in Nigeria. He learned through me in the ‘90s when we were both trudging through the process with Shina Peters and other upcoming artistes. Today, many people want to be like him. He is doing concerts worldwide. That alone makes us sound engineers proud. It would have been annoying seeing a Nigerian musician being sound engineered by a British citizen or someone from another country. It wouldn’t make sense. So, I am assuring the youth who want to be sound engineers that their future is bright,” Osagie declared.
On his part, ace producer, Laolu Akins described the forum as imperative not just for the upcoming sound engineers, but also those who are already perfect on the job. He said, “The banks don’t know the intricacies of sound engineering. We need to attract and educate them through this kind of forum so that they can see sound engineering as one of the emerging markets with a lot of potential for investment.”