WHEN Nollywood started, every film comes out with a soundtrack specifically produced for the movie. This creates an aura of originality and uniqueness in the minds of the viewers thereby giving impetus to the marketing of the films. Some of these songs were later packaged and released into the market as music album; indeed it was awful in the beginning.
Mike Nliam is a revolutionary in soundtrack creation and production in the Nigerian film industry. The Imo State born one-day e go better crooner stated that he was cooking the theme songs out of his love for music.
“I’m not trained in this area but when I discovered that I could write songs, I began to learn from the masters such as Victor Olaiya, Rex Lawson, Celestine Ukwu and others by listening to their works and studying extensively the structure, melody, lyrics, rhyme and rhythm of the songs.”
Nliam stressed that he worked on his voice to be able to sing well and with constant rehearsal, he became a good singer.
“However my incursion into Nollywood was orchestrated by Chico Ejiro after we met at my brothers shop in Aguda, Surulere. Chico actually came to buy something in my brother’s shop and discussion erupted, then I told him that I can sing very well and I have done some demo tracks. He advised me to come and meet his elder brother Zeb Ejiro that he would link me up if I were really good.”
He continued: “When I met Zeb, he asked me to sing for him, which I did. I equally played some of my demo tracks to him and he was very excited. Right there he commissioned me to do a soundtrack for Fortunes a popular soap opera he was shooting then.”
According to Nliam, he came back the next day with something good. Though some notable names were already coming for the job, it was agreed that Mike Nliam would be involved in the production.
“Zeb also gave me another task to write a song on Nneka the pretty serpent another great film. The song I composed made him have full confidence in me, but the producer of that film Okey Ogunjiofor was skeptical because he had penciled late Nelly Uchendu to do the theme song. As fate may have it, Nelly heard my song and endorsed it, and I was brought in to do the project with her. The door opened and many jobs started coming in,” Nliam enthused.
Now that Nollywood has come of age, Nliam is of the opinion that soundtrack production should be redefined.
“When we started filmmaking, everything was more less experimental even the tone of theme songs. The pattern I started with is what everybody is doing today. That pattern of when you get the script, you write a song based on the title of the film or storyline.”
This he said shouldn’t be the case anymore, as songs are written for mood not the other way round.
“One can also do many songs for a film and use it for promotion purposes; you don’t necessarily lay all the songs in the movie.”
He recalled that his hit song One-day e go better was actually a soundtrack he did for a film entitled Nightmare, which he co-produced with Chico Ejiro and Zik-Zulu Okafor. That was the first Nollywood film Onyeka Onwenu did, it was also the first English movie Pete Edochie acted in the industry. But because the song was well written and sang, people accepted it.
“Don’t write only to make a hit, but write for mood and emotions in order to create a lasting impression in the minds of the listeners.”
Nliam is of the view that team work and division of labour breeds excellence.
“Most times, I don’t voice my songs; I get people that soothe the mood of the music to render it,” he said.
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