ANALYTICAL DESCRIPTION OF 21ST CENTURY DIGITAL

RECORDING TECHNIQUE IN NIGERIAN AFROBEAT MUSIC

(BRYMO’S MUSIC AS CASE STUDY)

CHAPTER ONE

1.1Introduction

21st-century music is Western art music in the contemporary classical

tradition that has been produced since the year 2000. A loose and ongoing period,

21st-century classical music is defined entirely by the calendar and does not refer

to a musical style in the sense of Baroque or Romantic music.

Postmodernism, polystylism, and eclecticism—styles that attempt to

incorporate elements of all musical genres, regardless of whether they are

"classical" or not—are among the many remnants of the previous century that have

persisted. These efforts signify a waning distinction between the various musical

genres. Rock, pop, jazz, and the associated dance traditions are also significant
influences. Another noteworthy 21st-century trend is the blending of classical

music and multimedia; the Internet and its linked.

Composers began to get inspiration from an ever-widening range of sources

during the 20th century and created a wide range of techniques. The music of a

Javanese gamelan ensemble and a Vietnamese theater company intrigued Debussy,

and composers were becoming more and more affected by music from different

cultures. The serialist and dodecaphonic notational systems were created by

Schoenberg and the Second Vienna School. Electronic music was pioneered by

Varèse, Stockhausen, and Xenakis. Jazz and Western popular music both gained

importance as independent genres and as influences on art music. John Cage

incorporated the I Ching into his music; La Monte Young experimented with

performance art; and Reich and Glass created minimalism. As the century went on,

music typically became more and more varied in style.

Music, the conscious and, at times, fortuitous combination of individual

notes that appear successively (melody) or simultaneously (harmony), or even

both, is arguably a global practice. From studies in Western music scholarship,

labels such as Classical/Art, Folk, Afrobeatular, and World Music have emerged.

All these involve different processes of conception, organization, production,

presentation, and even appreciation.

The music industry basically takes care of all aspects of the music business

and has different organizations and outfits working together for a common goal

which include the artists, composers, managers/talent developers, the media, live

music promoters and distributors among others. Industry‟ occurs where there is

commercial exploitation of a product or item which often go through the basic

chain of production, marketing, distribution and consumption (of the product) that

can also include services. The music industry can be situated within this theory as

the apparatus coming together for the responsibility and facilitation of music

production, commercialization and consumption in various formats either physical,

digital, live or in any other multimedia forms.

According to Wikstrom 2009:49 'the musical industry consists of those

companies concerned with developing musical content and personalities which can

be communicated across multiple multimedia' while the industry strongly relies on

the models of creativity, reproduction, distribution and consumption in order to

function (ibid:2009). Khaleque-Abdul believes the music industry is a relatively

new modern concept denoting the non-physical aspect of music where

sophisticated communication technology of the modern age is now being used for

recreating and preserving all kinds of music. It is in this context that music as an

industry was developed where the potentials of modern technology can now be

fully exploited by persons engaged in the industry‟ (2003: 44). Negus situates the

music industry as functional within the culture and entertainment industries and

encompassing components of professionals working towards commoditization of

music within the paraphernalia of multimedia like recordings, video, films,

televisions, magazines, books, and via advertising, product endorsement, and

sponsorship over a range of consumer merchandise.

Analysis is considered the resolution by application of logic of complex

structures, facts, propositions, and concepts into their elements. By extension, it is

the tracing of things to their source and the resolution of knowledge into its

original principles; the discovery of general principles underlying concrete

phenomena (Oxford Talking Dictionary, 1998). Musical analysis, therefore, is the

dissection of the musical composition to separate the component parts of the whole

in order to take a proper examination of the nature, function, connotations,

compatibility, complementary, and unitary contributions of these components.

This exercise will, among other things, offer the analyst a chance for proper

appraisal of the effects of different compositional and performance techniques on

the consumers of the musical product. It will also ensure personal and institutional

in-depth studies of the composition. In the words of Achinivu (2003)

This paper will analyze and describe the 21th century digital recording

techniques in Nigerian music industry using Brymo Afro beat as a case study.

1.2 Statement of problem

The major challenge that the music industry is facing stemmed from the exit of the

major labels, which marked the collapse of the structure for artists. This collapse

can be linked to the decline in the economy which also created piracy and abuse of
intellectual property. Piracy has not allowed those that remained to be properly

remunerated and it is stifling the artists as well. To Omorogbe, the situation on the

ground will remain if the atmosphere is not conducive for a record label as it is the

label that forms the skeleton of the recording industry: Once you make it difficult

for the record label which is the primary unit of the music industry to survive, (the

result would be what obtains now). It is the record label that aggregates all the

other factors together, they give the artists a platform, the producers they hire, the

song writers, publishing people they contract and deal with, they do the PR, they

do the packaging they do the marketing, they do the promotion, they are the ones

who hire the photographers to do photo shoot for the album, they are the ones who

hire the video directors, scriptwriters, dancers and what have you. If you make it

difficult for the record label to survive what you have is what we have now, utter

chaos!

Now we have a proliferation of amateurs as the industry is unattractive to big time

investment because at present the importance of the [music] industry in the least

developed countries is made more difficult by its informal and unquantified nature

the availability of sales data reflects the interest of international recording music

business, which continues to see these countries [like Nigeria] as potential

consumers and not producers‟ (Kozul Wright 2003)

1.3 Research Objectives

 To highlight the history of recording in Nigeria music industry

 To describe the impact of digital recording techniques on Nigeria afrobeat

music

 To analyze the digital recording styles of Brymo’s afro music

1.4 Research Questions

 What is the history of recording in Nigeria music industry?

 What are the impacts of digital recording on Nigeria afrobeat music?

 What are the digital recording styles of 21st century on Brymo afrobeat

music?
1.5 Significance of study

Through analysis, the various elements of musical architecture become less

technical and less dry to music students. Conversely, by their application of the

knowledge they have of musical elements and concepts in the analysis of a piece of

music, they obtain greater insights into and understanding of musical design and

content of form

In trying to break down afrobeat music, to separate the component parts of

the whole in order to take a proper examination of the nature, function,

connotations, compatibility, complementary, and unitary contributions of these

components, the scholar has already embarked on an analytical assignment that

would stretch his studies into other disciplines than music. Such studies, whether

carried out by an individual or a team, would demand the application of knowledge

from at least such academic disciplines as sociology, history, anthropology,

semiology, linguistics, economics, and philosophy

1.6 Scope of the study

 This study limits itself to the analysis of 21 st century digital recording

techniques in Nigerian music industry; using Brymo as a case study.

1.7 Methodology

The study will deploy both the primary and secondary source of data collection,

the primary source will basically deal with collecting data from direct sources

which includes the use of discography, recorded musical works of Brymo(Olawale

Olofooro) as well as watching different recorded videos of his performance on

Youtube. Also the secondary source includes the use of information collected from

written literature such as published books, journals, magazine and other library

materials.

1.8 Limitations of study

According to Simon (2011), a research’s limitations are any flaws that are outside

the research’s control. According to his claim, the study’s primary weakness was

the respondent’s lack of collaboration.

1.9 Theoretical Framework

Most notable are trends towards more complete and formalized theories of music

that are perception oriented, such as Lerdahl & Jackendoffís (1983) ìA Generative

Theory of Tonal Music and Narmourís (1990) Implication-Realization Modelî.

Another new approach is performance oriented, like Clarkeís (1988) Generative

principles in music performance, Epsteins (1995) Shaping Timeî and Rinkís (1995)

The Practice of Performance. What we see in this literature is a rise of interest in

music as a result of human perception and production, and a rise in experimental

and empirical methodology; the importance of music being the way it is produced

and perceived by experienced or less-experienced listeners or musicians. This

viewpoint owes much to psychology, since perception and production depend on

human cognitive processes. The novel perspective emphasizes the complexity and

flexibility of music.

Music continually transforms itself, because musicians and listeners interpret

music. Listeners attribute functions to music, such as the expression of emotions,

the setting of a mood or the urging to movement, and musicians perform it in

differing situations and different ways. This variety of interpretations complicates

the identity of a musical piece and asks for a reconsideration of norms. Can music

research be determinative, or should it deal with diversity in an adaptive way? For

the investigation of the performance data, new methodologies are needed;

unfortunately, these are not yet fully developed. The concern in this paper is

therefore to give an overview and evaluation and analysis of the 21 st Century

digital recording techniques of Nigerian music (Afrobeat) as far as they have been

developed.