Interview with Dehumo Bickersteth

Wale: How did you get into music production. did you stumble into it?

Dehumo: You don't really stumble into anything in life. whatever you do has a history to it. I guess i got in music production when people started asking me to help them with their music. This probably happened because they saw what i was doing personally with my music and wanted me to do the same with theirs. I would only describe myself as a producer in the context of a production, and not as a static label.

Wale: I always tell people about how I hear you playing before I go to bed and how I hear you still playing when I wake up. Describe your passion for music in a few words

Dehumo: in a few words. music is to my heart, like words are to my thoughts.

Wale: People think once they play keyboards and can do some sequencing they automatically qualify to being a producer. Is that right?

Dehumo: This all depends on what their definition of 'producer' is. Most people equate song orchestration or arrangement to producing. This is one view. But arrangement and orchestration are actions. I believe producing is about intensions and motives. About breathing life into a song in a specific context. Which explains my position on a non-static label. Worship music is a specific condition. A recording is a specific context. A sunday service is another context. I do not presuppose the context, rather I let the context dictate the ideas. Thus, it is actually possible to produce if you do not play even play any instrument. You merely make decisions about the nature of the final music

Wale: What goes into a typical live worship album production as you have had with Fountain of Praise and Wale Adenuga?

Dehumo: Pragmatically, I get the list of songs and demo recordings, get a description of the theme, get an idea of the people I will be working with (instruments, singers, engineers, etc) and a sense of their abilities. then I sit back and incubate. I put some ideas down as they come then when I meet with the team, I guide their inputs and contributions along the lines of the direction I want to take the music. Thus ultimately, it becomes a collaborative effort and I merely lead it. Production wise, I tend to focus a lot on rhythms, pacing, breaks and vocal 'parts'. with the primary aim of providing a suitably dynamic and fluid supporting structure for the worship leaders to ride.

Wale: After every production process, how does fulfillment occur for you?

Dehumo: Its different depending on the type of production. For a live recording like FOPs, two things. 1) the experience of working with the people I worked with,
2) the privilege of being able to breath life into a set of new songs that millions of people can use in worship for generations to come.

Wale: Are there any skill sets that producers should have in order to "breath life" in to a song, album project or corporate worship time?

Dehumo: I guess one could call them skills somehow. I can not say I know exactly how it is done, but if i hazard an explanation, I would say there are 3 things that must be clear: 1) Music must be to you a personal language of expression. You must connect with the music. 2) You must never presuppose the context which means nothing is until it is 3) you are not producing a final product (music), rather you are facilitating a process that is always ongoing... worship. i guess this might somehow describe how I think about music and worship.

Wale: Can people be trained to be producers or is it an in born thing?

Dehumo: The musical skills are secondary as you can work with musicians and not have to play an instrument your self.

Wale: But then in that case, you must be able to articulate your thoughts and communicate same effectively

Dehumo: Without going into the debate of nature versus nurture, what i am describing here is what i do. It is not really a recipe for producers or a "how to become a producer". And since it is what I do, i reckon i would do it best. I guess anyone who creates music is essentially a producer. Whether he gets to work on other people's music depends on what these other people feel about the results he gets with what he has done so far. So yes, you can be trained to work with music, to create music. Depending on the manner in which you approach producing, for example the way i do, fostering an atmosphere that promotes creativity and freedom, fun and excitement is essential to the process. For others, it might control and discipline, rote learning and conformity. So, the skills required differ based on the producer's approach.

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