MUSIC - Drummer,  Songwriter and Musical Producer,
Tosin Aribisala

The following are a few questions I posed to Tosin and his responses:

DCB: At what age did you begin to play and when did you get your first set of
drums?
TOSIN: Before i started playing the American drum set i began by playing [at about 3 or 4] African percussions like congas, cowbell, shekere, woodblock e.t.c.  And then in 1987 when i went to a local church in Lagos, Nigeria, i saw that
they had drum set and decided to give it a try. That was how my drumming life took off.

DCB: From your writing, your father was a strong influence in your music
learning. What other persons associated with your learning music were most influential in your life?
TOSIN: Other influential person in my music learning was a man named Kunle Pinmiloye, a great teacher and drummer. He was the first person who taught how to read and interpret musical notations and drum rudiments. Another good teacher of mine was a Paris-based drummer called Moktar Samba, who gave me some lessons whenever i met him in France some years ago. Moktar actually expatiated on what Kunle taught me in Nigeria.  

DCB: When did you begin performing with a band?
TOSIN: I started performing in a professional band in 1996. The band [Sunny Neji Band] was led by a guy called Sunny Neji - a Nigerian-based pop singer - who recently toured the U.S. Initially i was with the band for about 2 months and i was fired because i wasn't disciplined enough in keeping to time - always late for rehearsals and gigs and overplaying instead of keeping a steady flow of rhythm. It was quite disappointing, but fortunately for me they called me back a few weeks later. At that time i had learned a big lesson about being more professional and disciplined on a gig. However, i was only there for less than a year before another opportunity came my way.

DCB: What was the first song you wrote and do you still play it and do you ever update songs you have written in the past and perform them anew?

TOSIN: The first song i wrote is called "Harvester", which was written 11 years
ago. I still perform it live; actually, i just started performing it with my band about a year ago, and it's been rearranged for both vocal and instrumental versions. I always update my songs with new arrangements. It's like painting; you sketch out what you want to paint and you keep going back to the board to add this and that line or color. I learned that from a Ghanian painter who worked for my dad and applied that to my music. Besides, i have come across some composers' works that have been rearranged by themselves; the funny thing is that the rearrangement always takes me by surprise, and that just inspires me to rework some of my compositions, which sometimes gives birth to 2 versions of the same song. That way the band doesn't get bored of playing the same song over and over.

DCB: As you were growing up, how were you influenced by the music of the church?
TOSIN: The music of the church in Nigeria has its root in the traditional or folk music of the land, so it's impossible to separate the two. The main
differences are the lyrics and the hymns. Thus, i absorbed everything
equally: church music and secular music at the same time.

DCB:  Some comments on your website reference the "Universal Language" of music. Where do you see hallelujazz project within this framework?
TOSIN: Well, besides my native Yoruba language that some listeners may not understand, the instrumental aspect of the music is what brings about the connection or attraction for the general listeners. Because the
instrumentation of my music is not so traditionally African but a marriage of African and jazz, and some Latin vibes. As a matter of fact, I also write some songs in English language, which is a more universal language that everyone could understand; for instance, what's on your mind and life after life both featured on my debut album, and more like that.   I also observed that in this age whereby the world is gradually evolving into a global village, especially with modern technology, internet, media power, intermingling of cultures and so on, it is not difficult for people around the world to understand or connect with different cultures, music or fashion around us. For instance, i was exposed to American music [jazz, country, soul, R&B, name it] at a very early age; the same thing with Jamaican reggae music and the Rasta movement, and many other cultures while i was still in Nigeria years ago. So i believe the same thing could be happening to someone else in another part of the world. That way we all can easily relate to the same type of music, outfit, food, religion and what have you..

DCB: Your music is very original and listenable. I know you are working on releasing a new CD with hallelujazz project. When might we expect the CD to be released and how will it be distributed?
TOSIN:  The music has actually been released, and it is available through my website: www.teegroove.com and on CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/aribisala

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