One instrument commonly used in Afrobeats production that seems to be getting on the nerves of Ghanaian audio engineer Kofi Boachie-Ansah, known in the entertainment world as Beatmenace, is the solo saxophone.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, Beatmenace broke down the science behind sound and explained why he believes the saxophone has been overused in modern Afrobeats production.
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According to him, many Afrobeats songs rely on saxophone solos that don’t add much to the music.
“If I hear that thing, I’ll slash my wrist. I think it’s just abused right now in Afrobeats. We dey over do am too much and you can tell that for a lot of the songs you can tell that they were not intentional about what they wanted to play. They just went with the flow and just jammed over…it cheapens, you know that I can’t if I hear a saxophone solo again something…” he said in pidgin mixed with English.
Interestingly, Beatmenace’s frustration with the saxophone surfaced while analysing Black Sherif’s ‘Sacrifice’ off the ‘Iron Boy’ album.
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The sound engineer praised the production on the track, especially because producers Joker Nharnah and Samsney took a different approach than usual.
Beatmenace explained that what makes ‘Sacrifice’ stand out is not just Black Sherif’s delivery, but the meticulous sound design.
According to him, Joker intentionally layered instruments, using a violin to add depth to the record instead of relying on the overused saxophone.
“It’s a brilliant production by the way. I think the producers did really phenomenal because when you played the instrumental track…I think Joker Nharnah and Samsney make an amazing pairing…Because you hear a synth pad. I loved the violin and I’m happy they did not put a solo saxophone,” he stated.
Meanwhile, watch the trailer for GhanaWeb’s upcoming documentary on teenage girls and how fish is stealing their futures below:
AK/EB
