Monday, Apr 28, 2014
When Adetokunboh Adeniyi and his business partner Mohammad Kawosha came across an unfilled demand for Afro beats music in Dubai, they decided to take things into their own hands.
They got the ball rolling with their own monthly urban night named Parry, and once that met success, they created a weekly spin-off to keep the momentum going: Afro Beats. Afro Beats takes place every Wednesday night at 2liv in Sofitel Spa & Resort, providing a titular experience that Adeniyi insists is authentic and unmatched.
“[We launched Afro Beats] to counter the fake hype created by a lot of DJs in Dubai who were exploiting the popularity of a few Afro Beats artists like P-Square, D’Banj, 2Face, Wizkid,” Adeniyi said. “But they only play three or five songs that they know. They lack the knowledge of the music and culture and the audience end up being cheated and fooled into thinking they would hear more Afro beats songs.”
Adeniyi told tabloid! why he was the right man for the job, and what crowds can expect at 2Liv every Wednesday night.
First things first, tell us a little about yourself and what you do…
I was born and raised in Lagos but moved to Dubai as a kid and this has been home since then. I graduated from medical school but my passion for music had always been there, so I started promoting artists and organising events while in college. Finally, when I had saved enough money, I started my own company called Co-Sign along with Daneesh Surkari which specialised in artist management and events production. I currently co-manage three events, Fortlom, Parry and Afro Beats.
What can people expect when they attend?
The DJ is a native, born and raised in Nigeria, the origin of Afro Beats. You will hear everything from the commercial hits to the underground anthems. It’s a nostalgic atmosphere for people from the Afro-Caribbean countries as they hear familiar tunes, and for people of a different background, it’s the discovery of a new genre of music they’ve come to love and enjoy. Expect to learn a few dance moves just by watching the dance floor, from the Skelewu to the Alingo to Kukure to Azonto. Expect to see a very diverse crowd filled with people from all sorts of different backgrounds and ethnicity, a true testament of Dubai.
As a record producer in the UAE, what trends have you noticed in the music scene?
My business partner Daneesh Surkari is the active producer in the team, although I do spend a lot of time in the studio with them. To be honest, I’m very impressed with the production coming out of Dubai these days. I think the major trend I’ve noticed is that most producers are now “creating a sound” as opposed to back in the days, they would try to imitate a popular sound. A couple of years ago, some producers wanted to sound like Timbaland or Neptunes or Swizz beats but now, they have their own sound — some of them are Arabic music influenced, others use Riddims and afro beats samples and some use instrumentalists to create the beat.
Free entry for women. Dh100 entry for men. For more information contact 055-5343594.
By Marwa Hamad, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
