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| TECK-ZILLA Teck-Zilla is a Nigerian born emcee/beatmaker/producer. A founding member of the Hiphop group "Str8Buttah" with members in the UK and Nigeria. After graduating from the prestigious technical school "Recording Arts Canada, he proceeded to work with like minded artists in Montreal and beyond. He's worked with African artists such as Zone Fam and The Holstar. |
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| SENCO Babalola Oluwaseun a.k.a Sencosonic is a Lagos based Nigerian producer whose vision for the Nigerian music industry is for it to grow to a point where there is a formal distribution channel within and outside the country, anti-piracy implementation and intellectual property protection. He started music production in 2005 and have worked with the likes of Victoria Kimani, Terry Tha Rapman, Godwon, Fecko, DJ Atte et al. HOW DID YOU BEGIN PRODUCING? Teck-Zilla: A friend of mine gave me fruity loops 1 and I struggled with it for a while until I discovered how to sample and all, so many aspects to how I started producing. Senco: I started out as a singer and a songwriter with a strong passion for music. I hooked up with a couple of hot producers at the university where I was studying Architecture but I was too broke to pay those producers to make a beat for me. I decided to hang around them to learn the art of beatmaking. I developed a good ear for music and I would spend about 6hrs on a stretch exploring new sounds and methods on my favourite beatmaking software FL studio. That was when I was 16. Over the years I've purchased more gears and produced a lot more tracks. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE Teck-Zilla: At the stage I'm presently in, I must say I can do anything. I won't categorically say I have a style. I just go with the flow though most people would say I make hard core hiphop beats but I just do what I want at this point. I got a dubstep/electro ep dropping soon by the way and do check out my house/tech track called 'Fire' with Canadian singer Peggy Hogan!! Senco: I would say my style is eclectic. I could start out making music with a riff, lick, bassline, chord progression or percussion. My most prominent style of production is sampling Afrobeat/highlife music and fusing them into a hip-hop groove. It's creative and I enjoy flipping those heavy brassed samples because it comes natural to me every time. I don't limit myself to any genre of music. I love to explore my world and create new ideas every time I sm about to make music. I think everything around me affects me in a certain way and inspires me in a certain way to make the music I make. ARE THERE ANY TRADEMARKS YOU LIKE TO EMPLOY ON THE BOARDS? Teck-Zilla: I don't really understand this question but I do live sound and I sometimes DJ using the apc40, a dj mixer and the soundboard at the same time so I can do a lot of crazy stuff but recently I have been sticking to just virtual dj for the fun of it. Senco: I love my sound to come out crisp and heavy through the speakers and Izotope Ozone 5 has been helpful in achieving that. I love to treat my lowend/bassline appropriately with a matching kick and once in a while I like to employ some sidechaining/ducking. WHAT ARE THE NEW TRENDS TO HIT PRODUCTION IN AFRICA AND THE WORLD AT LARGE Teck-Zilla: New trends? Heavy synths and drum/snare rolls…seems majority of producers are trapping out. Trap is the new trend now. Senco: In Africa now, I think there's an eclectic mix of synthesised sounds, pulsating beats, and groovy samples with hip-hop kicks. Electronic dance music is taking over the mainstream music in the world at the moment with the likes of Daft Punk, Avicii, Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex to name a few. HOW DO NIGERIAN PRODUCERS COMPARE TO PRODUCTIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD? Teck-Zilla: I won't necessarily compare Nigerian producers to others, we all have different styles and what may work in Nigeria may not work elsewhere. All I can say though is, there has been a lot of dope producers coming out of the wood work. Ain't gonna mention names but I know y'all. Senco: I think we have got our own unique and creative style of production but there is a need to work on the quality of our production output so that it can match the world class standard. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT? ANY CHALLENGE SO FAR? Teck-Zilla: Being selected as one of the contending producers in the last Canadian beat battle in Toronto last year. I didn't win but to be recognized is definitely a plus. Challenges, well everyday is a challenge so I do what I can to surmount whatever obstacle life throws at me. Senco: I wouldn't consider my biggest achievement an achievement at all. I'm constantly hungry, wanting more and more till I get to the tip of the top. Crossing the borders of Nigeria with my production style would be one of the things I want to achieve. The Nigerian music industry gives very little respect for music producers and most of them are never well paid for a well produced song. The industry still needs to be structured so that everyone involved can get properly paid WHAT TRACK BY FECKO WOULD YOU SAY 'YO I'M PROUD I PRODUCED THIS TRACK'? Teck-Zilla: Hmmm, so many but for now I would say "The Future". We still got so many dope collabos to create Senco: Oh yeah! Chill and Relax is a fantastic song. It's fresh, it's hot and so urban afro. |
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