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Reveals His Secrets & Methods
In his Autobiography titled, Ebenezer Obey: The Legends Own Story which was published in collaboration with veteran Editor, Mike Awoyinfa in 1992, Obey who is today a Living Legend revealed how he composes his Music.
According to him, in the Chapter titled Touching Gold, he wrote that Gold is the King of metals. “It has the brilliance of a star.”
“When Gold shines, it shines like a star. When athletes run, they run for Gold. When footballers face each other in the World Cup, their ultimate goal is Gold. A trophy of Gold.”
“When musicians too make records, they aim high for a hit record that would sell in millions and make Platinum and Gold. In my school-days I used to be fascinated by the story of a king who turns everything he touches into Gold. In real life, I found myself becoming another King Midas with a hand of Gold. When I started recording, anything I touched became Gold, genuine Gold that would remain evergreen, songs that would outlive Time.
“In the beginning I used to compose songs in a big notebook; but it came to a point when I didn’t need to write down my songs. Everything came spontaneously. The music would just come. I don’t know from where. When I woke up in the morning and entered the bathroom, I would be singing a new tune that had just come to me. I don’t know whether I was waking up with the songs or whether somebody planted them in my head at night when I was sleeping, but the inspiration for many songs came to me in the bathroom. At first, I was rushing to jot them down in my big notebook so that it wouldn’t escape my memory. But later it became unnecessary, and I had to discard the notebook. I stopped writing down my lyrics.”
“I love quietness. Even if I can get 5 minutes of quietness, I find it valuable. I cherish it. Every artiste cherishes quietness, solitude. At certain time, you want to be on your own to listen to the music of the wind, the waves, the rhythm of the rain. All these are sources of inspiration. Art and nature go hand in hand.”
“It came to a point when everything became spontaneous.”
“When I wanted to go for recording, I didn’t necessarily need to think seriously of what I would sing. Most of my compositions were done live on stage. I would be on stage and the melody together with the lyrics would come. Many times, the melody would come to me on stage and my bandboys would be wondering how the ideas came. I believe everything comes from God, the Almighty who breathes down the music into me. At times, when the spirit to sing a new song came, it would hit me and I would tell my boys, ‘Boys, I want to sing. Something in me is telling me that I have to sing, so everybody must get ready.’ When they saw me in that mood, the boys were always happy. They would be cheering and be shouting, ‘Oga!’ Immediately the guitarist starts striking the chords, the music would just be flowing and everybody would be playing his part as if we had all rehearsed before.”
“When I am in the mood to compose, I can compose up to thirty songs in one day. If a song is good, you know it, you feel it. A good song must have a good melody. If the melody isn’t catchy or arresting, the record wouldn’t make it.”
I record all my stage performances so that I can listen to them later: Many times, I just sing and I forget. But when the thing is recorded, you can play it back and remember it again. There is someone who records and edits all the new songs and brings them to me. Often-times, it is my bandboys who draw my attention to the potentials of some of my stage songs. They would tell me: “Oga, that song, no forget am o”.
Some of my masterpieces were recorded right in the studio without previous rehearsals! Take the case of ‘Board Members’ which turned out be one of my bestsellers. There had been no rehearsal! I composed the song right in the studio and the boys backed me up spontaneously. I felt that it was a potential hit instantly. But to my surprise when we played the sample to a crowd of dancers, they rejected it unanimously. Instead they were hollering for one of my previous records. I was disturbed. Their reaction broke my heart. I went to meet Mr Cress to ask him to defer the release of ‘Board Members.’ But he wouldn’t budge.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘We have pressed four thousand already. If you still insist upon that record not being released, I shall instruct them in the factory to stop pressing. You can then go back to the studio to do the record again. But what we are going to do is to mix the four thousand with the new one you are doing.’
I agreed to that arrangement. But before he could talk to them at the factory, more of the records had been pressed, making it unnecessary to go back to the studio for a new version.
‘Sorry, Ebenezer, there is nothing we can do. We just have to release it like that,’ Mr Cress told me, apologising.
‘Okay,’ I agreed. ‘But after you’ve sold everything, don’t press more. I’ll still want to go to the studio to record another one.’
We arrived at that compromise, but then the record turned out to be a big hit, selling like hot cake. It is not always that an artiste can accurately predict a hit. Some records are unpredictable, as in the case of ‘Board Members’ which sold far beyond expectation. And is still selling. No artiste can be sure of what is going to be a hit.”
“The Board Members, a club, consisted of a group of highly successful professionals and businessmen who are socialites.
“They included people like Chief Sanyaolu, the, Chairman of the Club, Chief Yinka Rhodes, a Lawyer, Jaiye Agoro, a businessman, Tunde Shitta, Chief Alex Duduyemi, Odunnaike and others. I used to play for them in those days, so I decided to record that album for them. After the album was released, Board Members became a household name in Nigeria; and the members became more known in the society.”
“Board Members’ sold millions of copies. It sold in the same range as a later record ‘Ketekete’ The inspiration for Ketekete also came while I was in the studio. It’s more of a solo act. It is not like some of my records where I sing and the chorus join me all through. I have noticed that any record where I do my singing alone always turns out as a monumental work which people claim to love and have special sentiments for. Though people love the others, any music in which I happen to sing alone proves to be more successful.”
“My voice has always been the magic. To find my own identity in the field of Juju music, I mixed highlife with Juju and used my vocaling as the magic and it worked. Before me, everybody sang together in juju music, everybody did vocal, and the Leader led; but what l have done is, to allow my voice to dominate and give half a minute to the voices of my bandboys. I allow people to hear my voice, to hear my meaningful lyrics. It was a strange innovation and before I knew it, I was up on top. My music then was a hybrid of highlife and juju.”
“I made one side of the record highlife and the other O wa nbe. That was what I used in those days to capture those who like O wa nbe and the students. In those days, I used to play on the College and University campuses like Sina Peters and Adewale Ayubare doing now. I was the rave of the moment competing with Victor Uwaifo on the campuses. Uwaifo was playing Akwete music.”
“The slang in vogue was Miliki and I was Baba Miliki. I don’t know who originated the slang. All I know is that people creating such slogans, like Sina Peters saying ‘E ma rocky:’ Miliki which started in the late sixties and the early seventies came to be a by-word for enjoyment. ‘Let’s enjoy.’
‘Let’s groove.’ Let’s Miliki. It was the era of psychedelic.
In Europe, America, and all over the world, the psychedelic sound was in vogue. And the bands reigning were the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendricks, Sly and the Family Stone, and the rest of them.
The whole world adopted the doctrine of enjoyment. In Nigeria, there was an oil boom and life was pleasurable. It reflected in my music. I was urging every one to miliki and to be ‘psychedelic.’ I was singing E ma miliki, e sa ma sakadeli (psychedelic).
‘Miliki music, is for enjoyment. I even had a ‘Miliki Night’ at Fela’s Afro Spot at Alagomeji, Yaba in Lagos. Fela gave me every Monday night to perform. When Fela left for his U.S tour, it became more regular. And when Fela finally shifted base to the Empire Hotel at Idi-Oro, I looked for a place at Ebute-Meta, called Crystal Garden, run by late, Pa Ademiluyi, and turned the place into ‘Miliki Spot’ for my teeming fans. I performed on Mondays and Thursdays for many years before I stopped.
