Career advice
Sthembiso 'Stetho' Ngcongwane is a music producer and the founder of Stethomusic, a company that initially recorded voice-overs for TV and radio ads, but now creates music with some of the country's biggest music stars. He talks to Margaret Harris.
What does a music producer do?
He or she is a Jack-of-all-trades. One needs to be able combine great music composition skills with technical production knowledge while interacting with both the artists and session musicians. The producer must ensure that the raw vocals, lyrics and instrumentation are combined and engineered into a finished product or song. A producer will also contribute, comment and advise on songwriting, arrangement and performance.
Your work is both technical and creative; how do the two aspects combine?
It is very important that the two are combined well, that's what makes a good producer. A song could be well-written, but if the recording and arrangement aren't done well, there's a good chance the song won't work.
What training did you do to become a music producer?
I believe that the most basic requirement is the love and understanding of music. As for the technical side, one needs to study sound engineering to learn how to use the analogue and digital gear and software.
How easy is it to get into the local music industry?
It is not easy at all. There is so much talent and competition out there. One really needs to be bold, ambitious and hard-working to break through.
How does our music industry compare with other parts of the world?
We are still very small and we are doing very small numbers compared with some parts of the world. For example, platinum is 40000 copies in SA and one million copies in the US. We are growing, but very slowly.
Where does your inspiration come from?
I find inspiration everywhere. I listen to just about every genre of music and that is where I get most of my inspiration. For example, a friend introduced me to Josh Groban and I was inspired to do a remix of one of his songs. That's how DJ Sbu's Remember When It Rained came into existence. I've done remixes of Miriam Makeba, international pop band Duran Duran, the soul brothers and many more. I found inspiration in just about every genre of music one can imagine.
Remember When It Rained won a Sama Award in 2007; how important are awards and what was it like to have something you worked on recognised in this way?
A great experience indeed. I was only 22 at the time and the success of the song made me realise that through faith and hard work the impossible becomes possible. It has been one of my greatest achievements and opened some big doors for me.
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