The Ghanaian sound I have observed over the past two years keeps getting bad. Today I have decided to put pen to paper. I am sure this will not be anything new but for me it cant get us there (international awards).
If you have enjoyed or is graced to be educated or well read, you will know by now that the ear (hearing) is one of the senses you cannot take for guaranteed. It is not for any reason that what you tell a woman you are wooing if told well, will win you her heart. Again it boils down to hearing (sound/music/melodies etc).
The crop of music churned out by some of the young acts lately is poor. I wont mince words on this. Sound quality is nothing to write home about when it comes to the Ghanaian sound lately.
I play music recorded in the 90s and oh boy, what heaviness! The sound levels are well done and voice is well laced on top of the instrumentation. Bass sits beneath, alto to the right, treble to the left with melodies well harmonized. Its soothing to the ear and even when its rap with no melodies it still feels relaxing.
The same cannot be said about the songs I hear today or let me say some. Again its my opinion about the Ghanaian sound. What is music when its not properly arranged?
I think the rush to release is also a factor professional musicians should consider. Listen to a King Promise and you will be beaming with smiles. Listen to a kwesi Arthur, M.anifest, D-Black who even do rap and a few others and you will appreciate the level of work put into the production.
Shatta Wale’s Ayoo is heavy on instrumentation and well mixed. But that’s his only song I can mention in connection to this write up about the Ghanaian sound. Could it be because he didn’t sound engineer that song? I listened to Kwame Yogot’s “For the boys” and I bet you I can use Fruity loops to do something nice.
I wont want to compare Ghanaian music to that of other countries but the instrumentation, mixing and rendering should be well done. All these global awards consider sound and more, and its about time professional engineers are allowed to work.
The” konko production” got to stop now!!