29 Mar 2017

 It is common to watch people dancing and singing along to a musical piece and shower accolades to the singer oblivious to players behind the scenes.
Often than not music producers are forgotten and their artistic talent and contribution not acknowledged.
But these are the people behind the song, coaching and controlling recording sessions and the project responsibility realy lies with them.
Producers would be involved in the creation of the song, picking keys and tempos as well as approving mixes for the song.
Theo Kaartze, known in music circles as Suffocate, is one local producer who has worked with a number of musicians in the country.
In an interview, Suffocate said he had produced some songs for the likes of Vee, Sta Luu, Wizards of the Dessert, Slizer, Kay Cee and Dipstrada among others.
Born and raised in Werda, Kgalagadi South, the producer said his childhood love for music made him do what he does today, producing for artists.
“Basically what I do as a producer is to design the sound, do the engineering and make the song listenable,” he said.
Currently based in Gaborone, the 26-year-old said he started producing songs way back in 2005.
As for the skill he possessed, he said he had a short stint in Namibia doing sound engineering, and thereafter learnt on his own with the mentorship of one Tebogo Ipotseng.
Currently Suffocate has three artists he is working with and they are Kay Cee, Mmemo and Dipstrada. He also had two award nominations from BOMU and Yarona Music awards.
Suffocate is also a two time BOMU award winner, 2014 and 2016 best producer. He said the 2016 award was the best because of the awards theme: The Greatest of All Times.
Owner of a record label company, dubbed Roc-Lefatshe Records, which has worked with artists such as MMP Family, Dr Vom and Gong Master, his work is not only confined to local artists, as he has done songs with Zimbabwean musician, Jah Prayzah and South Africa’s Bricks. ENDS