Shaping Namibian sound
Two of the biggest Namibian albums on the market right now, Sunny Boy's Uuyelele and PDK's Grateful have production credits in common - Mr Glo.
The best and biggest songs are usually collaborative efforts, but in most cases, the vocalists take the lead of the producers or composers. We have seen many talented musicians fall short of reaching their potential owing to their inability to find the right producer. In this edition, we salute one of undercover superheroes who keeps bringing the heat in terms of production.
Sharing his journey in the music industry, Mr Glo said that he first started working as a producer at Lash Attractions and Omalaeti before starting his own production company Glo Production in 2015. “My company is relatively new but I have been around for a while now. When I was at Lash Attractions most of the work I did was experimental and when I went to Omalaeti I was groomed to adapt to their sound which was a very exciting time of my career because I learned a lot,” said Mr Glo.
He mentioned that what makes him the go-to producer for many artists is because he does not limit himself to a particular genre and he is open to new ideas. He pointed to Tate Buti's Ondjeke album as one of his outstanding projects he has worked on. “Recently I was also involved in Sunny Boy's Uuyelele album - an album that took us about two years to complete. It was worth the time because we really sharpened our craft and came up with beautiful music,” he said.
Getting intricate with the production conversation, Mr Glo explained the difference between mixing and mastering which are very important elements of his job. He stated that mixing and mastering are two separate but equally important elements in the audio process that can often become blurred and hard to differentiate between. He explained that mixing is the step before mastering that entails adjusting and combining individual tracks together to form a stereo audio file after mixdown. The stereo file is then mastered, which ensures that the various songs are well polished and form a cohesive whole on an album. “People go to school for these art forms and there are those who are self-taught. It takes a lot of discipline and patience to master them but if you love it you will get it right with time,” he said.
He mentioned American producer Timbaland as one of the producers he used to look up to, but emphasised that he is now at a point where he does not look at other producers for inspiration but rather strives to come up with authentic Namibian sounds. “There are a lot of sounds that we borrow from but for me it is about making these sounds Namibian. I try to do something new from the norm,” said Mr Glo.
Speaking to tjil, gospel artist D-Naff said what he likes the most about working with Mr Glo is his humble persona and his patience. “For my team and I, Mr Glo is the go-to guy because he is open to ideas, very soft and kind.
“There are producers who are difficult to work with just because they are the captain of the ship during the recording process and they are impatient. Artists can't really be creative under such environments, but the same cannot be said about Mr Glo,” said D-Naff.
Mr Glo maintains that it takes time to make it as a producer and be recognised for your work, however he advised that if you want to get into production, you should not be driven by recognition or money but do it for the love of it and growing the industry. “Do not just do it for the money or the fame. If you have a dream, believe in it, fight for it and achieve your goals.
“Have daily goals coupled with weekly goals, monthly goals, yearly goals and eventually you will realise your dreams,” said Mr Glo.
MICHAEL KAYUNDE
Sharing his journey in the music industry, Mr Glo said that he first started working as a producer at Lash Attractions and Omalaeti before starting his own production company Glo Production in 2015. “My company is relatively new but I have been around for a while now. When I was at Lash Attractions most of the work I did was experimental and when I went to Omalaeti I was groomed to adapt to their sound which was a very exciting time of my career because I learned a lot,” said Mr Glo.
He mentioned that what makes him the go-to producer for many artists is because he does not limit himself to a particular genre and he is open to new ideas. He pointed to Tate Buti's Ondjeke album as one of his outstanding projects he has worked on. “Recently I was also involved in Sunny Boy's Uuyelele album - an album that took us about two years to complete. It was worth the time because we really sharpened our craft and came up with beautiful music,” he said.
Getting intricate with the production conversation, Mr Glo explained the difference between mixing and mastering which are very important elements of his job. He stated that mixing and mastering are two separate but equally important elements in the audio process that can often become blurred and hard to differentiate between. He explained that mixing is the step before mastering that entails adjusting and combining individual tracks together to form a stereo audio file after mixdown. The stereo file is then mastered, which ensures that the various songs are well polished and form a cohesive whole on an album. “People go to school for these art forms and there are those who are self-taught. It takes a lot of discipline and patience to master them but if you love it you will get it right with time,” he said.
He mentioned American producer Timbaland as one of the producers he used to look up to, but emphasised that he is now at a point where he does not look at other producers for inspiration but rather strives to come up with authentic Namibian sounds. “There are a lot of sounds that we borrow from but for me it is about making these sounds Namibian. I try to do something new from the norm,” said Mr Glo.
Speaking to tjil, gospel artist D-Naff said what he likes the most about working with Mr Glo is his humble persona and his patience. “For my team and I, Mr Glo is the go-to guy because he is open to ideas, very soft and kind.
“There are producers who are difficult to work with just because they are the captain of the ship during the recording process and they are impatient. Artists can't really be creative under such environments, but the same cannot be said about Mr Glo,” said D-Naff.
Mr Glo maintains that it takes time to make it as a producer and be recognised for your work, however he advised that if you want to get into production, you should not be driven by recognition or money but do it for the love of it and growing the industry. “Do not just do it for the money or the fame. If you have a dream, believe in it, fight for it and achieve your goals.
“Have daily goals coupled with weekly goals, monthly goals, yearly goals and eventually you will realise your dreams,” said Mr Glo.
MICHAEL KAYUNDE
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