Ray Mike Nwachukwu is arguably one of the few Nigerians who have traversed the whole gamut of communication. From radio to television, from television to advertising and from advertising to music production even with a stint in Daily Times in the 70s. Nwachukwu who hails from Agbor in Delta State anchors a music programme on Classic F.M Loaded with a collection of old records in his office along Akerele Street, Surulere, Lagos, he sat on a swivel chair with a computer on his table, a microphone, mixer, a processor and a set of micro speakers that produce sound reminiscence of a digital studio. Saturday Vanguard was welcomed to different highlife music tunes of Victor Uwaifo, Ngeiye, a Ghananian highlife tune among others. He is a music buff who not only produces music but also teaches music. Surfing his software archives to entertain his guests with good high-life music, the interview began as he gave clear analyses of different genres and why artistes today lack quality. Enjoy it.How did you begin your recording studio?I started the first indigenous stereo recording company in Nigeria. When I was in LINTAS Advertising as a producer, we used to bring all our commercials from London. LINTAS (Lever International Advertising Services) was then an arm of UAC . Continue...
The British didn’t think we were ripe enough to do their commercials and so we used to go there to bring commercials. It tingled something in me and I said we must stop the trend of going abroad to bring commercials. I started the first stereo studio in a one-room apartment in 1977. I was so caught up in making sure that what I did was good. These days, everybody is doing commercial. But I think you can work for money and also be good at what you do. Self fulfillment is very important because that is what is going to galvanize your inner being into becoming a better person. If I wanted to make money, I would have made money, having been the pioneer in what I was doing.How would you describe the present crop of musicians in the country?The present musicians are doing well now but two things are structurally wrong; One is the culture of not trying to do things very well. These days, all their tunes sound alike. Most of them just want to get rich quick. They forget that there is a sequence and process in everything in life. There has to be a progression in life, but we do not like that in this country. Though I’m not a rich person, I’m fulfilled, because I have all along set out to do what makes me happy. I only do things that even if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I can talk about them.Secondly, they lack content. Music is communication and my upbringing in communication is broadcasting. Broadcasting is hinged on a tripod – Education, Entertainment and Information. What we have now is pure entertainment, it’s good but it’s not complete, therefore communication is not complete. From what you tell people, they get informed and educated. I respect and love the musicians we have today but most of them are missing it and that is part of the problem of the larger society as well.What do you think is responsible for the trend?Our society keeps nudging people into doing things that are not necessarily right because we are fun-loving people who love to get entertained. So, anything that gives us entertainment has a good pass mark. There is nothing in our music today that is educative. Once in a while, some of these artistes stumble on good lyrics, but they don’t know how to turn the lyrics into what will be very educative and informative. . For instance, Brymo did a very good philosophical song – ‘Arambe’ couple of years back. These days, their lyrics are not thorough and this is because they don’t sit down to write songs. Victor Uwaifo and I were discussing recently and he said our singers should learn how to play some form of instrument and be versed in music. You don’t necessarily have to go to the university to study music, afterall I didn’t go to the university to study music.Again, we bite off more than we can chew. A young aspiring music artiste actually gave me an insight into how songs are done these days. He said there are different beats at the studio, a singer comes, requests for a particular one and sings something on the beat. I laughed because I saw that there was no creativity in what they did. They use a beat that has been created for something else and that’s why all the music these days sound alike. Nothing is gained from those songs. If this continues, where is the hope for music?What is your take on music reality shows and how have they have helped in teaching music?Part of the problem we have in this country is not peculiar to us alone, it’s now a global phenomenon. Music is being bastardized. But just because it’s going wrong somewhere doesn’t mean it should go wrong here too. Nigerians copy a lot, especially from the Americans. America has re-colonized the world in a lot of things. We buy and swallow ideas hook, line and sinker; instead of taking only what suits us and discarding the rest. When I produced Dora Ifudu several years ago, she had just returned from America, New York University and she was brimming with ideas. I told her to go to the village and give me one Igbo song and one of the songs she brought ‘Bata Ngwa Na Egwuabia’ became a hit in her first album. I did that because I’ve had an experience in the past, when I took an artiste abroad and a very good English musician asked me “What is the impact of this music in Nigeria, in your local dialect?”, I didn’t have any answer because the artiste was singing in English. The man meant well and that opened my eyes to a lot of things. My advice to Nigerians is ‘do something that the white man doesn’t know how to do’. If I begin to talk about the problems of our musicians, some people will call for my head, because they’ll think that I don’t want them to survive. But it’s not about survival, it’s about our tomorrow. This trend won’t last because it lacks intrinsic value, it’s empty.Don’t you have plans to set up a music academy considering the wealth of experience you have garnered over the years?Wherever I find myself, I always want to make an impact. I doubt if I have the energy to start something like that. I am always willing to help people who want me and who feel I can be of benefit to them and that’s why this programme I do on Classic FM makes a lot of sense to me. I want to give to people, I love to contribute. I don’t know about the academy, but if you set something up and ask me to come and lecture, I will.Highlife which was regarded as indigenous music is going into extinction, what’s your take on that?A foreigner once asked me: ‘What’s the music of your country?’ and I said ‘High Life’. He said ‘Is Highlife not from Ghana?’. It pained me to the roots that the white man thought that Ghana owns Highlife music. There is still a tussle between Nigeria and Ghana as to where Highlife originated from.A musicologist, John Collins who is Scottish, but born in Ghana is the Head of the music department in Legon University, Ghana. He’s a friend and we sat down to discuss this and he said Highlife had some influences from the Caribbean and also from the blacks in diaspora in Britain. That’s why you see that the Highlife of the 50’s and 60’s had a lot of calypso influence. Ghanians will claim Highlife only because they play more of it than Nigerians and they had better musicians because of the fact that they had schools of music when we had none. Nkrumah gave them schools of music, so most Ghanians at the time, could read music without going to the university to study it. But the Nigerians who could read music then were those who went to the university to study it. So, the Ghanians had better musicians, but I don’t think that qualifies them to be owners of Highlife music. It will be very difficult to say Highlife is from Nigeria or Ghana. The debate will continue for a long time.Do you see Nigeria reclaiming her place in Highlife music?It would be difficult. Are the Nigerians of today ready to take it back? Are they working towards taking it back? It pains me to say this, but it’s the naked truth, Ghanians are more dedicated to what they do. Nigerians get carried away easily. If you ask me, the only artiste who plays something close to Highlife is Flavour. Sunny Neji was also doing well, but I don’t hear much of him any longer.Most Nigerian musicians today would argue that they do the kind of songs people want, as most ‘good’ songs don’t sell, how true is that considering the fact old good music still endures?People do commercial music these days because they want to survive but I don’t buy that argument, because you can marry and balance both. You can make money and make sense, for goodness sake! What Nigerians love is plenty money.Is there a difference between a singer and a musician?A singer is supposed to be a musician. Our singers must learn to play something, they must be groomed and they must learn the rudiments of music. To that extent, you shouldn’t call yourself a musician if you do not know music. Everybody can sing, I’m sure you sing in the bathroom while bathing. These days, they even use auto-tune to tune voices. A good musician must know the rudiments of music. It’s simple, it’s just that Nigerians don’t take time to do things well.We have schools of music in the country now, so people can go there and do musical courses.Musicians should be able to communicate properly by informing, educating and entertaining people, because if it is just to entertain, then a lot is missing.
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