Teju Olarewaju: Powering Africa's Music Tech Evolution
Before music was created inside laptops, it came to life in rooms. Instrumentalists and singers gathered in studio booths, composing and rehearsing sounds in real time before recording them onto tapes. Today, most of the music we hear is composed entirely inside digital audio workstations (DAWs), with several added benefits that have significantly transformed the creative process of making music globally.
The Western Dominance in Music Technology
However, while Afrobeats—and African music, in general—is presently regarded as a power player in the global music scene, all the modern technology used in creating music digitally still comes from the West. While Nigeria, specifically, has shaped the sound of global music, it has rarely shaped the technologies that make that sound possible. In a move to reposition Africa's role in modern music technology, 23-year-old Nigerian audio engineer Tejumoluwa Olarewaju recently developed The Brown Noise generator, the first professional audio plugin made by a Nigerian.
Understanding Audio Plugins and the Brown Noise Generator
Audio plugins are to digital audio workstations what salt is to food. They help expand recording capabilities, allowing engineers to add new instruments, manipulate frequencies, and shape the spatial depth of sound. Essentially, the Brown Noise generator is an audio plugin (think of it as a software instrument) designed to produce deep, low-frequency ambient noise used by producers and audio engineers in mixing and mastering records, while listeners hear it for inducing focus or calmness.
Tejumoluwa Olarewaju's Background and Achievements
Raised across the UK, US, Asia and Nigeria, Tejumoluwa Olarewaju is a maverick blazing a trail within the global audio engineering landscape. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Olarewaju has amassed a chunk of achievements, from serving as College Salutatorian to earning Dolby Atmos/Pro Tools Post certifications, to receiving the Audio Engineering Society Educational Foundation award, among others. He has also earned significant industry attention, with a Cinema Audio Society nomination, and several contributions to heavyweight projects for Google and Paramount+, among others.
Bridging the Gap in Music Technology
By creating The Brown Noise Generator, Olarewaju is among a new generation of African engineers evolving modern music production as well as Africa's role in shaping the music-tech responsible for that. In this week's Guardian Music edition, the audio-engineering guru sheds more light on his Brown Noise Generator plugin; his experience creating it and what that means for Afrobeats; as well as his plans to directly impact the audio engineering scene in Afrobeats, among others.
Interview Insights: From Curiosity to Innovation
Where did you grow up? I've lived in several places, including Lagos. I spent my formative years partly in the UK, spent some time in a small Southeast Asian country called Brunei, and later moved to the United States for school.
How did you get started in music and sound engineering? From a very young age, I've always loved sound. I used to watch films and pay attention to how sound effects were placed in space. I would notice how something could move from the left speaker to the right speaker and how that spatial processing helped convey emotion or action. That curiosity pushed me toward sound design.
Much of your training happened in the West. At what point did you start noticing the gap between Western innovation in sound technology and Africa's limited presence in that space? That realisation came when I started teaching myself mixing techniques online. Most of the tutorials available were created by people who didn't look like me. There's nothing wrong with that, but it made me think about representation in the field.
The Role of Brown Noise in Afrobeats
Your project involves brown noise, which many people may not be familiar with. What exactly is brown noise and how does it connect to Afrobeats? Brown noise, or Brownian noise, is often described as the deep sound of nature. You hear it in waterfalls, heavy rain, and ocean waves. It has a particular frequency slope that many people find natural and calming. When I compared it to pink noise, which is commonly used in professional mixing and mastering, I found that brown noise had soothing properties that fascinated me.
Practical Applications and Future Vision
If someone opens the app, what exactly happens? Is it like a streaming platform where you press play on music? It's different from a streaming platform. There is no music library. The app generates brown noise continuously. Users can adjust the volume and the frequency range. The generator works within a range between about 80 hertz and 300 hertz.
On a broader level, Africa rarely produces its own music tools. Do you see your work as part of a larger shift? I believe it's a small step in the right direction. For a long time, we've depended on tools developed elsewhere. Those tools are excellent, and they've been built through decades of research. But there is also room for us to create our own solutions.
Collaborations and Industry Impact
Are you already collaborating with African engineers or producers while building Cosmic Audio Lab? Yes. I recently spoke with a mixing and mastering engineer who runs a studio in Lekki called The Atmos Room BBM, and we discussed possible collaboration on a future plugin. I've also had conversations with engineers connected to major studios in Lagos, such as Dr Adepetun's DAPC Studios, Africa's first Dolby Atmos-certified studio, who received early prototypes of the Brown Noise Generator.
Long-Term Goals for African Music Technology
What is your long-term vision for Cosmic Audio Lab and African music technology? My goal is to innovate and create a space where we can build tools for ourselves. Afrobeats is performing very well globally, but Nigerians should also be visible in other roles beyond being performers. We need representation in post-production and technical fields within the industry. Through my work, I hope to inspire younger creatives to explore audio engineering and technology. There is a lot of potential in this field, and the future of audio engineering is still wide open.
