Seraph Dare Fashola is a foremost music tutor, producer and a composer per excellence. The Ogun state born is a member of the Holy Church of Cherubim and Seraphim. In this interview with Acts of Seraphs, he opened up on his journey into music, as well as his plans to start his own music training school. He also shared his thoughts on Seraph gospel artistes and the last Seraph Youth Mega Praise mini concert. Excerpts..
The song “Jesu Mo Wa S’odo re” gained much traction in and outside the C&S fold. You must have put in so much effort to produce it.
We didn’t put in much effort like that. As a matter of fact, it was not rehearsed before we got into the studio. It was recorded in the most unusual way of recording. It was a feel on the part of everyone of us that was part of it. I just told them to enter the studio, and they played their respective roles. That was it. So, the little effort we put into it is nothing compared to the wide range of acceptance the song got.
What kind of music do you listen to?
I will call myself a moralist. I don’t use the word gospel artiste, because people have bastardized the term. A moralist would sing and deliver. I love all kinds of music, but I do not do any kind of music. I do all genres of music but conservatively, I do not sing for man. Some of my friends call me ‘Afoju Olugbala’ because I do go my own way. I do not really engage people except those we have been together for long.
Do you have a mentor?
I don’t think I have a mentor. But I used to rever baba IK Dairo. I am also a huge fan of Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade. I cherish good songs by music artistes.
Where do you draw inspirations from?
My own kind of composition is spontaneous. I get my songs from everywhere and not from a particular kind of inspiration. I can be inspired while walking, eating or engaging in any kind of activity. I really cannot pin it down. Every action spurs me.
How did music start for you?
It started the day I came home late from a programme a day before my exam at UNILAG. I rushed to the exam hall the following morning, and it was a practical exam in a science lab. So I was not really composed and that was how the gas affected my eyes. I was immediately rushed to the hospital. By then, attendance and test was 60 percent, while exam was 40. After missing the exams due to my treatment, I later met with the dean of my faculty and he asked me to repeat the semester, as that was the only thing he could do. I felt so bad and I left his office to board the school shuttle, even with the intent of dropping out. It was at that point that I heard people blowing trumpet, and I was told it was coming from the art block. So when I got there, I joined a queue of students I met there. By the time it got to my turn, I was asked what I had come to do. Among the panelists was baba Laz Ekwueme who told his colleagues to allow me to prove myself. He asked me what I can do, and I said I could play the piano. Then he hummed ‘Praise to the lord the Almighty’ and I played it with the exact keys. He was surprised. Then again, he hummed ‘Af’ope f’Olorun’ and I also played the exact keys. That was how he showed interest in me. He, thereafter, facilitated my admission into the department of Theatre Arts where I read music major. He also paid for my tuition fee throughout the period.
So did your relationship with him go beyond academics?
I functioned in his choir at some point. Our movement then was interfering with my church service, so I had to withdraw.
Can u tell us a bit about him?
He was heading the music department under Theater Arts then. And he is unarguably the first professor of music in Africa. Most musicologists have some level of weirdness. He is very weird. He does things in an unusual way. It was nice working with him. He is the first professor I have worked with that will never lecture you with pure English, he rather lectures with pidgin English. His music lecturing for me is fun. He made it lively for us to understand. He sings us into his theory, and at the end of the day, we enjoyed him and not his lectures. He is a very nice man and so down to earth. I found myself as a tenor singer in his choir then, I just sit near the keyboardist; and then I was an amateur. He said to me, ‘O boy, you are going places o’. I still send some of my songs to him up till today.
Do you have an idea of people whom he has made in the music industry?
Yes, the likes of Yinka Davies and Lizzy Ego who sang with Lagbaja. Dare Art Alade was a member of his choir, and project fame Ben Ogbeiwi is a product of his. There are many and you won’t find his products doing junks.
Would you describe his role in your journey into music as divine?
It was miraculous. I never had any build up to music academically. To take music at least from your secondary school days, you have to be an arts student. The only art knowledge I had then was in literature in English and it is stopped at the JSS level. So for me to have crossed, that move I couldn’t explain it. Though, I was told that from age 7, I was sound-curious, that is, I loved sound. I would finish eating and I will turn my plate upside down, wanting to know what made the sound. I started playing the keyboard at age 6 without anybody teaching me. I love sound so much.
Is music your core profession?
I am a teacher. I teach music and I teach schools for now. Aside, I run productions.
Does that mean you have your own studio?
I work with a studio. But now I do a home studio. The world has really gone highly computerized. Gbori Soke that I will release tomorrow was musically done at home. 50% of the production was done at home, including instrumentation vocals and chorus.
We understand you featured Adedayo Sekere in the track…
Yes, she came here and we did everything here and people had input in it. One of my friend in Athens – Greece; we just mailed the song to him at home and he played guitar on it. One of my guy did the bass section. Infact, we also mailed the song to him that time Covid-19 was still very critical.
What inspired the song?
Like I said, I am a spontaneous person, that’s how God works in me. We were preparing for a vigil in the Lagos state mass choir then and this hymn was chosen. I will also tell u how it got to comforter choir. Before the supervisor first came with the Lagos state mass choir, because we need to set things straight since some people believe it was with the comforter choir we got the inspiration, no! It only got more echoed in the comforter mass choir. The Lagos state mass choir was planning for an overture; overture means arrangement before the main song. We just rehearsed it because it was a spontaneous thing, and we didn’t take cognizance of it. So we sang it there. We couldn’t even use it for what we planned. Even I myself could not remember it not until we got to comforter choir again as we were treating the same hymn. I taught the choir that night and it became something else. That was when the music director then for the comforter mass choir, Baba Adetiran, requested that we make it as coda. Coda means a concluding musical section that is formally distinct from the main structure. That’s why the chorus became part of our rehearsal. So we sang it there and it became prominent even in the concert itself.
So what led to this new single?
In my own mind I have sung it and it has gone. So, underground, I heard some churches were singing it already. Most people stream the section we sang and begin to sing that part and you know it was only the chorus we sang. So, during the Covid-19 lockdown, Dayo Sekere came around. She was meant to take a chorus to be featured in a single. But when she got here, she was surprised to see me and she was like – she can’t go like that without me doing any music with her. Then we did the chorus again then she put it on social media. People made comments and part of the comments challenged me. The comment was that – uncle Dare, we look forward to having more refined chorus like this. Then my producer was around and I told him that we’ve been challenged. It was the open challenge that brought about Gbori soke.
What can you say about the use of C&S hymnals as of today?
Let me say in the course of history, we have gradually lost some notes in our hymnals. This was as a result of evening service otherwise known as ‘Isin Irole’ back then. They do not use instruments that were meant to guide them, so that was how they started adopting wrong and borrowed notes into the hymnals. This was passed on to generations and it became normal. It is high time we recall ourselves the to the original notes. Besides, most of our hymnals now are syncopated, but they are not meant to be. It is meant to stand on a strong beat. That makes it sound sacred. It comes out spirit filled. But now we want to dance and twisting it makes us dance the more. That is why they regard us as a dancing church. Basically we have three aspect of church music; and I mean core aspects. These include: Sacred, Secular and Chant. The sacred aspect is straight, pure and undiluted. It may not necessarily be the right harmony unless the choir has a fundamental training – be it classical or parallel. With this, everyone feels the strong presence of the Holy Spirit. But unlike sacred, the secular aspect accommodates a lot of adjustments, while chant is more of a prayer communication between a priest and the congregation. It is mostly voice and organ.
What can you say of the state our gospel artistes?
I see C&S than just a church but a separate world entirely. That is why you can see a replica of what happens in the society happening in it. More so, we are still in the segregation era and this is affecting the growth of the church, particularly the gospel artistes. My dad would always say ‘the foundation cannot spoil if there is room for refining’. One thing is – if our revelations in C&S can be compiled, it will become a theory. So, refining does not make us to tamper with the foundation.
Do you think upcoming C&S gospel artistes need more training to boost their skills?
I can say that. Most of our gospel musicians need more training. This is part of the reason why the most serious ones are not in the lime light. Though, once some of them can spring up one or two lines, they will term themselves as a musician, without having the core knowledge.
And do you see them as people who are ready to subject themselves to any tutor?
I don’t know only God can amend that aspect of us. The youths of nowadays feel they’ve arrived.
We understand that some Seraph gospel artistes do come around to your place, as often seen on social media. Is it for mentoring or what?
I think they’re in a better position to answer that question. They’re whatever they say I am to them. Most of them just come around probably to see me for one advice or the other. I normally run a home studio, so one of them came for recording and she never knew I live here, so meeting me was a shock to her and she even said she would not allow me to go like that until we sing together.
Is there any of them that crave mentorship?
Ah! I’ve been avoiding that question. You know why? I want them to say it. I don’t want to put words in to anybody’s head. That’s why I said whatever they say I am to them, I am. Though, I have a lot of them that crave mentorship. I have a lot, I will say to some extent, I have been dodging it probably because I’ve been a bit busy.
For you to have come this far, what have you done to raise people like you in the fold?
For me, there have not been a forum, but I have found myself in several forums that have made so many people pass through me. I found myself in the Lagos state mass choir and I have found myself in some other Christian gathering outside C&S. I have had cause to deliver lectures, I’ve had cause to tutor people on how to sing and how to sing well. I’ve had several forums that have made me talk to so many people. Also for me, the lockdown has been a period of reflection on how to strategize. I want to come up with a training school were people will come and listen to my own music way, like I said, there are so many theory of music and there are several school of thoughts; that is why I say, probably in that section people might pick out one or two things like Mister Dare Fashola.
When do you consider achieving this?
By his grace, we are looking at next year. This year, for me practically, I have signed out in that regards. So we are looking at starting with a proper calendar year. Myself and my team are still fashioning out the period. We are looking at a period of 3 to 4 months. The syllabus has been prepared already, we also have handout to use. That’s why I am looking at next year.
With regards to gospel music in the fold, what is your comparison between then and now?
Ah, the comparison for me is interwoven; I don’t know how I will put it. Back then it was raw and highly spiritual, but now it is more of commercial and we just want to sing. Back then, we have commitment, but now people just do music because it is paying off and the ‘we want to get our own share’ mentality. Then, there were originalities and uniqueness, but now people want to sound alike. That my friend sounded this way and they made it. Probably If I sound like him, I will also make it. Commitment of then was highly spiritual, and had it been we have more of it now, C&S music would have gone out of this world. Then they were few. Few with uniqueness, few with serious messages; but now we are many but we don’t have much of the right ones in the lime light.
In the lime light?
Yes, we don’t have much of them, I might be right and wrong, for me what I hear mostly is how people copy themselves. For me C&S music is meant to dish out messages, remind you of the right core, lead you in the right path. What we have mostly around now is dance. I do not say we shouldn’t dance, the normal slang now is “aye ti wonu ijo, ijo ti wonu aye.” Mostly our so call musicians now are letting the world dictate to the Spirit. At least that’s what I have noticed, and there are still serious ones out there. That was why I said the ones we have in the lime light, I’m sorry, most of them are not really given out, and we have few of them that are really spirit filled. That is what is leading most people astray, that is why we so much have that negative vibe around our music.
And there is a notion that the C&S church is not spending much on its gospel artistes like other denominations…
(Cuts in) Yes, that is part of it.
Do you think this is really affecting the growth of an average seraph gospel artiste?
Yes, it is really affecting us, this mentality of “Ise oluwa lan se”. I’m not saying it is wrong, but that has been the mentality. Most of the elders have forgotten that there are some that are willing but are not financially buoyant. So if our elders can invest in our music, we will have positive vibes. And not just spending on our music, but spending on the right ones making good music. Then, there is politics everywhere. If there is less politicking and we really have the 70% spirit, then there is an avenue for C&S to grow in the area of gospel music. 30% can be administrative to really put things rightly, because I believe there is music and I believe we have the seraphic aspect of music that needs to be explored. Also, there are aspects of our music that need to be redefined without it losing its taste. See, I don’t have anything against Pentecostal music, infact, I love their music, but to a large extent, most of their sounds are not seraphic. There is a limit to which their music can go. So, why can’t we promote our own?
What is your submission on the last Seraph Youth Mega praise mini concert?
I was there. At least you could see Baba Adetiran was examining their performances. The mini concert judgement does not really reflect the performance we had then for a profound reason; one of the members of the panel of judges came after a few contestants have had their performances and he was still allowed to do his duty, thereby tilting the result of the night. Going further, C&S music is mostly dance inducing. Our initial exposure to music is often around the traditional influence so we have a lot of raw talents in denomination so there is need for reorientation, refining, reforms. Baba Adetiran has a Baptist background, and he will permit me to say that he does not have so much interest in secular or popular music; which he sees as has junk. However he brought his expertise, experience and tolerance to bear in the decision-making process on the Mega Praise night, but the reason I cited earlier never worked in favour of some raw talents (I see them as uncut diamond) within the contestants who, I believe, need exposure and platforms to excel. Worst hit were Adedayọ and Inumidun.I also noticed on the night, instrumentational imbalance, choral imbalance, lingual imbalance, issues with the auditorium acoustics with regards to the sound system provided, etc; as a result, the contestants couldn’t not give their very best..
And it is not as if you feel sentimental about this…
(Cuts in) It’s not sentiment.
Aside the ones you’ve mentioned did you find some raw talent in others, too?
Yes, a lot of them, I only mentioned those two because I am familiar with them. We all see things from a perspective influenced by our experience, exposure and belief system. Well, I was only a guest and I enjoyed myself in a seraphic mode. The organizers also have their point. They made the choice of the panel of judges so that there won’t be an avenue for bias. So that there won’t be any form of sentiment from a non C&S member. But in one way or the other, you can’t expect a seraph to sound like a new generation, orthodox or Celstian. In order words, what I expected was that, a Seraph would be among the judges. Baba is not really a C&S person, but would judge with an overview. C&S traditional music is not really western oriented or influenced. Yes, we must have our own music rudiments, musical culture and mannerisms. I feel the organisers should have allowed a C&S person on the panel. They wanted me to join the table, but I told Baba I was not called to do that, so I stayed back.
What charge do you have for seraph gospel artistes in general?
My advice is for them to find the right route. It is either God calls you or you are not called. Always be Spirit led and do not jump into copying others style of music. We are of different perspectives of creativity. You can’t be anyone else but you can be yourself. You are your own acoustic. You are your own creativity. That is why God called you, He hasn’t called you to be someone else. Some people who sing like popular musicians do not last long on the scene. There is nothing wrong in it but you have to be you.
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