Hit Maker Turns to Film: Tedd Josiah

“I was born to create. If other people love it – great! If they don’t – I created it for my enjoyment. My art was suited to do nothing but develop real music,” says veteran music producer Tedd Josiah, while at his lush residence in Runda estate, a place well-equipped with a cozy brown mahogany themed music studio. A nostalgic bell rings when you hear the name of this man who’s responsible for producing some of Kenya’s biggest urban hits including “Unbwogable”. He’s also founder of Kisima Awards and famed pioneer Kenyan record labels such as Audio Vault Studios; avenues that gave space for the soulful funky sounds of Nairobi’s crop of urban artists in the past two decades.

Tedd Josiah, originally started out as a musician in 1991 and by 1995 started an illustrious career as a music producer at the then Sync Side Studios. In 1993 he had already established Kisima Awards, what would later turn out to be Kenya’s premier prestigious music awards ceremony. It started small as an award ceremony for high school children. “It was an idea I had that all the young people won’t be sports people or doctors. Can I create an award scheme that will appreciate young people?’” Tedd recalls.

By 1998, he joined forces with friends: Mike Rabar (now owner of Homeboyz Entertainment) and David Mureithi (now a member of the Kenya Copyright Board) to start the company Audio Vault Studios, a venture that didn’t last very long because its management trio had “three very different directions in life,” Tedd reminisces. After the separation, Tedd invested in sufficient studio equipment branching off to set up Blue Zebra, a record label that was “dedicated to 100 percent music productions without any TV or Radio Commercials.”

After touring Nigeria with Kalamashaka and experiencing Femi Kuti’s live afro beat sounds around that same time, Tedd was inspired. “I realized that there is a crossover of music between local language and modern fusions. River Road sounds then was all about drums, guitar and distorted vocals. Technically, I wanted to make music that I could critique with a musical point of view, by first enjoying it myself.”

That discovery would turn out to be the humble beginning of many of Kenya’s urban music icons. “Between Blue Zebra and Audio Vault we had produced a heck of a lot of artists. Artists like Pete Odera, Hardstone, Ndarling P, Gidi Gidi Maji Maji, Nikki, INTU (Atemi’s former girl group), Suzzana Owiyo, and the late David Ohingo. We had done about 15 albums for different artists.” That jump-started the Kenyan urban music scene and it became a fact that Kenyan music wasn’t only available on radio but also for sale in albums covering different genres; from hip hop to afro fusion.

However, Tedd still feels that despite the strides made in the Kenyan music industry, a lot of growth is yet to be achieved. “The Kenyan music industry is not operating even at 20 percent of its optimum. The purchase of music is an example of how low it is. People are now pirating more than they are buying albums and digital music downloads. Radio is consistently saying ‘If it aint’ broke don’t try to fix it.’ From 2003 all the way to now, there’s olden music sounding better now because only pop artists are making it big. Radio is still playing noise. How about we venture out and play real jazz music? That way, we wouldn’t have struggling Kenyan jazz artists.”

As a producer, Tedd’s approach is unique. “I listen to an artist first then figure out what they need to be. Not every artist needs to sound in a certain way. I am not a pop music producer, I am a music producer. I look at who they are and what they are trying to express,” he says.

After receiving numerous threats because of his work on Raila Odinga’s campaign in 2007, Tedd relocated to London where he studied Filming and worked at various studios including Steel Drum Studios. He returned to Kenya in 2012 with a new passion – filming. He also set up a new working space: Sand Stone Studios. Together with his dedicated team of assistant producers and cameramen, at his new spot, Tedd is this year releasing his studio’s first album in years with Mombasa-born singer Iddi. Tedd has already shot three videos for Muthoni the Drummer Queen’s new album and is working with other music productions including video for artists including like Jaguar and Kelma.

Tweet @teddjosiah for more on Kenyan music or check out his protégé’s Facebook Page Iddi Singer Kenya.

By Anyiko Owoko