From what seemed a mere expression of passion, Iloyi Oluwole otherwise known as Indomix has built an impressive CV with little or no motivation at all. In this interview with Jobynews, Nigeria’s most sought after sound engineer shares his grass to grace story.
Sound engineering is supposed to be a behind-the-scene craft to earn its credit only on the CD jackets and or on the screen, but you’ve been asking for more…
I feel so bad about the way sound engineers are not adequately acknowledged and appreciated. This is because we make the sound delightful for listeners to enjoy. The producers will produce the snare, kicks and every other thing involved in the line of duty, but we are the ones who make the finishing of the job.
It’s like you giving a job to a furniture maker and he does only the skeleton of the furniture without the finishing. The sound engineer makes everything in the music very clear for listeners to appreciate. Nothing would make sense about the audio if an engineer’s Midas’ touch doesn’t go into it. We clean and mix the sound according to a sequence.
How long have you been into sound engineering?
It’s been 13 years now.
How many of those A-list acts have you worked with?
I’ve worked with quite a lot of them namely 2face, Faze, Black Face, Banky W, D’banj, Sound Sultan, Terry G, Olu Maintain, Earthquake, let me just say 80 percent of Nigeria’s big acts. I’ve even worked with Wyclef Jean.
Why do you insist sound engineers deserve a mention in songs and awards like the singers?
I know that abroad, sound engineers cart away high prestigious awards, I mean there are some with a staggering number of close to 25 Grammys. But that doesn’t happen here in Nigeria. When you honour the best producer of the year, you should as well honour the best sound engineer of the year. We’ve got great sound engineers like Foster Zyno, Indomix, Sheyman, Danjigi, Be Myne to mention a few. For a long time we’ve worked without asking for this right. We were not putting our names on the songs.
I heard you were the first to insist on putting your name in songs you work on…
I was the first person to demand that actually. I’ve been working almost without credits, but Sound Sultan gave me that idea. He made me know if I didn’t do that, artists would just use and dump me and no one will ever know the person behind the good jobs. They put names on the jacket of the CD, but not everyone notices that.
That’s why Sound Sultan gave me that idea. I used to put my name at the back of the jacket but he said it wasn’t good since I was just starting. He felt I wouldn’t be noticed early enough if my name is kept at the back of the jacket. That was how I started etching my name in front of the works.
What year did you start insisting on that credit in songs? It was eight years ago and by the time I realized that the industry and stakeholders already knew my name. I started situating it at the back.How exactly did you start the vocation? I was a chorister in a Catholic church.
I had two things in mind: I would either be a soldier or a musician. In secondary school, I used to sing at inter school level but gradually I kept working towards starting my own band. But at some point, I noticed some of the band members were unserious about what we were doing.
They were doing it for fun but I saw a great future in it. So, I went to a studio one day and saw how they were producing music. I was so fascinated about it because I knew it was possible for me to be single and producing at the same time. Gradually, I started producing and people began to love my sounds. They would demand for specific beats they’ve heard from some of my past works. I’d tell them to bring their data; the songs might be good but I demanded that they should bring the songs for me to mix.
How did you hone your skill in the art of mixing?
I learnt it when I went to Abeokuta, Ogun State, for someone to sign me but the guy kept postponing the deal. But he has a studio and I knew someone called BeMyne; he’s a producer. He would come to the studio to show me one or two things. I was training on my own and whenever I was lost, I’d call him again to put me through. That was how I honed my skill.
Who was the first big act you met and worked with?
As an upcoming act, when you meet a big artist, you’d be so excited. Faze was the first I met with and I was very happy. I’d actually been working with TerryG then but nobody knew him. Then I met Sound Sultan and the third person I was impressed and proud to work with was Wyclef Jean when he came to Nigeria.
How much was the first money you were paid?
I was paid N30,000 then. It was really huge to me then and I kept it with some other savings to set up my studio.
How much do you currently charge to work with the A-list acts?
At least I charge between N400,000 to N700,000 for mixing and mastering a song. Most of them don’t like spending even on their own project; they’d rather spend so much ‘flexing’. It’s the same reason I advocate that sound engineers should come together to lend their voice to this cause.
Some have been here before me but they’ve not bothered about charting this cause which can only make our lives better as professionals. I bless God that music lovers now know that I exist even if they cannot put a face to the name they know. As I speak to you, when I go to places and refuse to introduce myself, I move freely, but the moment I mention my name, they tax me like they tax the A-list stars.
Before you started making money on the job, did you have bitter romance experience?
Of course, that happened to me just as it happens to people. I hate to bring my family into the public, but I must acknowledge the support my wife gave me. She was a singer and she sacrificed everything she’d worked for to see me rise. A lot of people left me when I was struggling.
Did you get your parents’ support going into music?
My father died in 1993 before I started at all. I didn’t stay with my mother after I left secondary school. I was staying with my elder brother who believes in me till today. When I wasn’t making a dime from music, he still believed in me. So, the first day he saw me with celebrities working, he was overjoyed. He supported me with money and all he had. We were both strugglers but he preferred to give me whatever he had at his expense. If he had N10, he’d give me N9 and keep just N1.
