CENTRE STAGE: Where are the female producers?

There are so many producers these days but let’s try a challenge; Name at least three local female producers.

Male producers are a dime a dozen, but where are the female producers? It is a scenario that is replicated in studios and recording booths across the globe.

In 2010, a Nashville Scene article estimated, that in the USA, women accounted for less than five per cent of producers and engineers. By 2014 a report from the Department of Labour placed them at 10 per cent. Though a few have made a name for themselves, female producers still remain a pale shadow of their male counterparts.

Celebrated percussionist and acoustic maestro Tetu Shani, in a Facebook post, challenged people to name at least five female producers. Initially respondents were confident they knew one, only to come up blank.

The obvious absence of female producers often goes unnoticed, until a direct question is posed. American singer/songwriter Regina Spektor, when questioned, admitted to the BBC that she had “never even seen the names” of female producers on her record company shortlist. “It didn’t enter my mind to look for one,” said Spektor.

BERKLEE COLLEGE

“There are a few,” admits Tetu. “Miss Karun formerly of Camp Mulla is an amazing producer and is currently studying at Berklee College. I honestly don’t understand why ladies shy away from production.”

He says there aren’t any major challenges that hold women back when it comes to production. “Like male producers have done, they can buy the equipment and teach themselves the basics.”

But it seems no one has noticed or addressed the absence of women.

While their male counterparts like Saint P, R Kay, Ulopa, Jacky and MG take time to produce hits which bring the limelight on them, it takes some extensive digging to bring the ladies out. They often don’t announce themselves choosing instead to quietly work in the background.

Some analysts have attributed this to the “over-sexualisation” of the industry. Suzanne Gachukia is an accomplished composer, musician, performer and producer with over 20 years of experience. You may remember her from the all-female music group Musikly Speaking, which she founded in 1985 or as a composer and band leader of Zannaziki in the mid-nineties.

She says: “For the longest time I was the only female producer, but now we have a few coming up. I think the industry expects ladies to be a pretty face at the front of the show, they don’t think we can play a part in the larger value chain.”

She contends that the industry treats women purely as “eye candy”. Suzzane has however weathered many storms, successfully running her own record label, Sub Sahara Entertainments for many years. With time however, many like Annete Oduor, have started joining the ranks. Annete Oduor is a Berklee College trained, audio producer plying her trade in Nairobi.

 “I know like four female producers but you have probably never heard of them,” Annete explains. “It is not presented as a possibility because we don’t have role models to look up to.”

She returned to the country after graduating with a degree in Music Production Engineering and Music Business Management.

Most of her projects were done in Boston, USA where she worked with several African bands, from Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Since returning, she has worked with Kenyan jazz ensemble Shamsi music, Noel Nderitu and Tetu.

With a background in live sound engineering and global experience, Annete is slowly gaining respect among Kenyan artistes looking for international standards. Her advice to ladies who may have an interest in production:

“Just start, there is no real secret to it, if you really love it you will figure it out. Your mind is your greatest asset but it can be your biggest enemy if you let it.”

This imaginary ceiling has been a real hindrance to women looking to get into music production. There are many who desire to get into it yet remain on the outside looking in.

TOO TECHNICAL

DJ Cindy typifies the attitude with which most ladies approach production. It was always her first love but her passion was quenched the minute she opened her first production software.

She says: “Production is too technical, it’s easier to just play the music. The Logic interface just put me off when I first opened the software. There was so much chaos on the screen I shoved it aside. I tried out deejaying and it looked like something I could do, so I focused on it.”

After deejaying for a while, DJ Cindy is now taking another crack at music production. She wants to create a few original tracks that can give her a signature sound as a DJ.

She has already started experimenting with sampling and creating tracks using mash ups. With time, she hopes to become a full time audio producer, but the hang-ups she has experienced as a female DJ still haunt her.

“Entertainment is tough for women. I once secured a DJ residency at a club but a male deejay took my deal by convincing the club owner that a woman can’t do the job. Female deejays were also rare a few years ago but now we are many. If we did it with deejaying we can do it with production.”

Fena Gitu is a phenomenon singer, song-writer known for her soulful hit singles that include “Fenamenal Woman”, “Africa Massive” and “Brikicho” among others. With an increasing regional reach, her musical exploits are respected across the region. Yet many do not know about her work as a producer.

“I co-produced Jabulani, Africa Massive from my first album; I helped in creating and composing. It is something I have always wanted to do since I was a kid, and I’m getting better at it.”

 She is already proficient with fruity loops and is now working her way up to complex software’s like Logic and Pro-tools. It comes as a relief to her because she always had the ideas in her head but lacked the technical ability to execute them.

 “It is a sad situation,” she says about lack of women in production. “It is up to us as female producers to push the game to the next level,” she adds.

Her advice to ladies who may also want to delve into production: “As long as you can deliver most artistes won’t care if you are a man or a woman. Music is a tough industry so you have to give it your all.”