I was having a discussion with a musician friend emanating from the thought that we should have a conversation with Tim Rimbui, the pioneer behind hits for acts like K-South and Gospel Fathers. Or maybe Tabu Osusa who has been around so long that it just made sense that he was the one to do a compilation of the origin of Benga music. Somehow the conversation drifted to him telling me about the evolution of music studios in Kenya.
This is because back then studios were few. Of interest here however is the heavy padding that goes into making a booth. Back then the walls of a recording booth had padding similar to sofa sets. This is/was very expensive, some even flashed leather. The leather studios of course were where the big boys recorded. Keep in mind for a long time, everything had to be recorded live. From the drum to the triangle in most songs.
There was a mushrooming of studios in Kenya from the year 2000 onwards, based on among others, easy access to recording software. This saw creativity in the form of egg trays, glued on to walls for sound proofing. Some still feature this.
Better software that could edit any noise saw the rise in bed-room producers who could gather some contraptions in their bed-sitters and record hitmakers. Some of today’s respected producers started out this way.
Due to this, current studios feature a booth with an extra layer of hardboard for padding. This means the structure is something that is a shock to the old musicians or producers.
Surely the Kenyan music industry has come from far.