By Akeem Lasisi
Multi-talented Tunde Obajeun has been a recording artiste for more than two decades. While many beautiful songs had emerged from his studio hitherto located in Surulere, Lagos, something bigger has entered his creative net: the facility, now named Rekords Studio, has got a grand new life.
From the old base, Obajeun has relocated the music factory to the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Onikan, the iconic epic centre of Lagos cultural arts, surrounded by other monuments like the MUSON Centre, National Museum, City Mall, JK Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Freedom Park, as well as City Hall. It is thus an understatement to say Obajeun’s choice of the new home for the music studio is strategic.
“I spend most of my time around Lagos Island, Victoria Island and the environs,” the creative, who is also a singer, guitarist and filmmaker, says on the venue. “And I realised that there’s no recording or rehearsal, I mean a proper recording and rehearsal studio, here. So, that is the number one attraction for me. To fill the gap.
“Again, I didn’t know we could get a space big enough at the TBS — for an expansive studio. But, one day, I was just exploring the arena for an office. Then I discovered a space I could reconfigure for the studio project. It started as a tall dream but here we are today with what I will call a multipurpose studio.”
He is happy that the TBS is relatively central and easy to locate.
“It’s like a centre for people coming from different parts of Lagos. And it is direct. People coming from Ikorodu can get a direct BRT. Those from Sango, Egbeda and Berger-Mowe sides have a straight channel. That’s why I felt that, okay, this is the right place to house the new studio,” Obajeun says.
Living to its billing as a one-stop hub, Rekords Studio is a venue one can do everything from beginning to the end, according to its founder. He notes, “You can record. You can rehearse. You can do a podcast here. You can also use this place as a film set. And you can do everything that has to do with visuals and audio.”
Being an audio engineer too, Obajeun appreciates the value of quality instruments. So, he is not denying Rekords such: “I am not just an audio engineer, I am also a very high-tech audio engineer. I produce at that level. So, one thing I want to feel but is often unavailable when I go to many other studios is that when you rehearse there, the sound you get is different from what you get on stage. As a result, I said to myself: ‘How do you get what you have always wanted and known is missing? How do you feel a stage while recording in the studio? We have the answer here. You will get the same kind of sound you feel on stage while still exploring digital options. In other words, it’s like having a digital and analog simultaneously existing.
“So, it’s still a digital — digital studio because everything you need digitally is available. And if you also want to bypass digital and say, do your analog processing, it’s still very, very much possible.”
Obajeun says the project gulped a lot of money especially based on how expensive equipment has become. Running the studio, he adds, is also no child’s play. Yet, he is committed to operating Rekords at what he calls subsidised rates as he believes it is a way of giving back to the industry and helping artistes give life to their dreams.
He enthuses: “I’ve also been to different studios and I noticed that charges in many places are killing. Of course, it’s not cheap or easy to set up a studio because it is capital intensive. But then, you see, many musicians just want to experiment and to also realise what is in them. If they do not get access, their creativity will die. So, I said to myself: ‘I’ve been in this kind of situation before. How do I help fellow musicians?’ That’s why the amount we ask people to pay here is very cheap. Like you can’t get it anywhere for this standard.”
Back to his music, Obajeun is working on a 10-track album at the moment. He believes the product will speak for his artistic journey. “I will soon release the album and I’m also planning to move with it. The title of the album is OBA. And Oba actually means — not the Oba Agege or Oba Eko or anything like that. The O stands for oneness, B stands for balance and the A for awakening,” he adds.
