4 minute read
10 minutes with local tastemakers
Kia Wasabi
Introducing the underground music maverick working his way to the mainstream, one album at a time. This is Kid Wasabi, born Eric Nengola, and he is carving a distinctive niche as a composer, songwriter, and music producer.
WHAT INITIALLY DREW YOU TO MUSIC PRODUCTION, AND WHAT KEEPS YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT IT TODAY?
I’ve always been a huge music head. I love listening to hip hop and alternative genres, but what drove me to make my own music was when I attended my first Beat Auction hosted at the Warehouse Theatre (now Brewer’s Market) back in 2015. Something about the energy, the vibrancy, the idea that I could do it myself grasped me. What keeps me driven and passionate about it today, is the ability to keep surprising myself within my own growth. Learning new instruments like the guitar, and incorporating those tools and skills into my productions is really what gets me going.
My journey officially took off in 2016, with my duo at the time ‘Peacemakers,’ when we released our first demo ‘Peacemakers and Sound Vapours’. We released three EPs titled ‘Flight School’, ‘Morose’ and ‘Love me on my bad days’, before the release of our first ever vinyl only debut album ‘Cosmic Womb.’ This process is what inspired me to dive further into vinyl only releases, and to take my strategy on marketing music to the next level, really focusing on the business aspect of “the music business,” which is what led to the first ever clear vinyl LP ever released in Namibia titled “Butterfly Echo.”
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR UNIQUE STYLE OR APPROACH TO MUSIC PRODUCTION?
Three main elements set my work apart. One of the things that makes my process unique is that I use a music production centre (MPC) to craft my beats, mainly drawing inspiration from producers such as J Dilla, The Alchemist and Madlib to name a few. Secondly, I tend to use vinyl samples as the framework for most of my productions, it’s what helps me capture the rawness and the aesthetic that I want my sound to portray. The third element would be that I enjoy using live instrumentation to bring my beats to life. It adds that organic, human essence, that a strictly digital sound can’t emulate.
HOW DO YOU COLLABORATE WITH ARTISTS TO BRING THEIR MUSICAL VISIONS TO LIFE, AND WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE MAKES FOR A SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION?
Usually, before I even consider working with an artist, I inform them of my process and my preferred way of releasing music. For example, we would have to work on a full body of work, preferably an album, which they would then have to release on vinyl. I then take them through the vast benefits and steps of releasing music this way. When I’m working with another artist, I like to build chemistry, to where I get to know them, where they’re coming from, their sparks and inspirations, and infuse that into the music, like the work I did with Diolini on ‘Butterfly Echo’.
LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS AS A MUSIC PRODUCER, BOTH PERSONALLY AND WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE NAMIBIAN MUSIC SCENE?
I aspire to not only be a Namibian producer, but expanding my wings globally, finding an audience that truly appreciates the work, and sees the value that I put into my work as an artist. I intend to learn about film scoring and pursue that as an extension of my work. Within the Namibian music scene, I hope to inspire our local artists to understand their value and understand the difference between what streaming platforms provide versus what you can provide for yourself as a signed or independent artist. The narrative of the struggling artist should be a thing of the past.
WHO ARE YOU WHEN YOU ARE NOT PRODUCING?
It’s really hard to separate myself from the music, as it’s so deeply tied to my daily life. It’s really what takes up most of my time. When I’m not making music, I like to kick back with a good horror film. There's something intriguing about the darker, more gory aspects of cinema that I really enjoy. I also recently started travelling, and I intend to do more of that… there’s just a unique way that it opens one’s mind to see things differently.
