Sand Stone Studio; 2013
Weekly Webisodes
Tedd Josiah has been a household name in the East African music industry for the past decade or so. He has seen the local contemporary music scene develop from its infancy in the mid 90s to the million shilling industry it is today. Through his former label, Balck Zebra, he has worked with many of the heavyweights in the music business such as Kalamashaka, Hardstone, Gidi Gidi Maji Maji, Necessary Noize, Didge, Suzanna Owiyo and many others. To cap if all off, he is also the founder of the first ever awards scheme to recognie local talent – the Kisima Awards. After a stint away from East Africa, he is now back with a brand new production house, Sand Stone Studio (S3) and a new initiative aimed at upcoming artists, film makers, and all other creatives in the music, film and audiovisual industry.
Through a series of weekly webisodes dubbed the S3 Sessions, Tedd will be sharing his vast wealth of experience and in-depth knowledge of how the industry works along with tips and tricks for breaking through as an musician or creative. He will also feature other creatives and professionals to add more value and depth to the webisodes. The S3 Sessions will be posted on the Sand Stone Studio YouTube page. Each webisode will handle a different topic including promoting yourself as an artist to producers and on social media, making quick demos, music production, video and film production, graphics and even animation. What’s more, this free flow of useful information will continue for the entire duration of this year.
The first proper webisode was posted yesterday and dealt with making demos easily using the most readily available tool – your smartphone. Gone are the days when producers would sit down and read long emails and text messages from upcoming artists looking to grab a record deal. It is your content that will sell you, and that is what you should present first. Social Media has also made interaction with fellow creatives and producers much easier and quicker. This webisode includes a quick tutorial on how to do just that.
From the trend shown by the first two webisodes, the S3 Sessions will be brief and to the point, usually clocking around the ten minute mark. It is also notable how the the webisodes are presented in a very approachable and relaxed manner, in a tone the youth of today can understand and relate to. The quality of the videos is pretty good, so the webisodes are guaranteed to be very watchable.
The S3 Sessions is a great initiative whose time has come. More and more young Kenyans out there are keen on exploiting their creative talent but have no idea where and how to start, proceed or break through. Hopefully, this series of webisodes will provide that much needed starting point. It is refreshing to see more established creatives reaching out to the up and coming. This is how the industry can grow and become truly competitive.