Interview: Tolu Obanro Discusses The Art of Film Scoring In “A Tribe Called Judah”  

As New Nollywood continues to evolve, filmmakers become more intentional about the technical aspects of their productions.

One of Nollywood’s fast-growing film scorers, Tolu Obanro, is known for his nuanced approach to the sound department of filmmaking. Having worked with filmmakers Niyi Akinmolayan and Jadesola Osiberu on Nollywood hits, Gangs of Lagos, Jagun Jagun and Brotherhood, Tolu Obanro has proven his mettle as the go-to film scorer for soundtracks and other musical components of Nollywood productions. He has also worked with Funke Akindele on Battle On Buka Street and A Tribe Called Judah, both of which are the highest-grossing Nigerian films of all time.

In this brief conversation with Culture Custodian, Tolu Obanro reflects on his approach to film scoring and talks about his commitment to the most successful Nigerian film ever in the domestic box office.

How does the score of A Tribe Called Judah help in telling the story, particularly concerning the scenes? 

From the beginning of the story, you cannot be sure if there will be action. This is because it starts like a family drama. Some brothers are doing well, others are doing bad. They had to come together and form a strong team to save their mother. At that point, I needed a sound that would show that something was bringing them together as blood relations. The blood connection was something spiritual. I had to make the sound engulfing and scary since they were wearing masks. I had to make them look like the traditional egungun that they were. The sound was a mix of modern and traditional influences.

Your sound choices, such as the use of an orchestra, in A Tribe Called Judah is quite intriguing. Is this a personal stylistic decision or one influenced by the producer/director?

Producers trust you to be able to get the right sounds. In the film, when the brothers came out of the elevator if I had used the wrong sounds, they would rather look like clowns than people who were supposed to be there for an operation. Imagine them coming in and I start playing sounds from Tom and Jerry. The intensity of the occasion would not have been felt. The sounds I used influenced the choice of the interpretation of things. Of course, every producer always has an idea. I had previously worked with Aunty Funke on Battle On Buka Street. Before seeing A Tribe Called Judah, Aunty Funke Akindele called me and said she wanted us to approach the sounds differently even though it was also a family movie. She said the “Tribe of Judah ” sounded churchy and could be linked to the Celestial church. So she wanted us to use sounds with the Celestial vibe. When she sent me the final cut of the film, I was convinced about getting a different set of percussion. I used the piano, the talking drum, and other instruments at different points in the film. When Jedidah caught her last son trying to kiss a girl, I used a talking drum.  For the songs, I used sounds from Akuba, dende, and others. All this helped in giving the movie its color. I wanted to avoid the stereotype of Nigerian films sounding in one particular way. For instance, even though I used almost the same set of instruments for Gangs of Lagos and A Tribe Called Judah, the results were different.

You also did the scores for Jagun Jagun and Gangs of Lagos, both of which belong to the traditional epic and crime thriller genres respectively.  How does the genre of a film influence the score?

Genre matters. Jagun Jagun, for instance, is a traditional movie yet it is made for international appeal. I was on set for the production where I gathered the warriors and asked them to sing for Ogundiji. I created a drum for hailing Ogundiji because he was a kingmaker and deserved a similar treat as kings in Yoruba land. I had a conversation with Niyi Akinmolayan concerning the Agemo character in the film and we agreed to create sounds that gave the impression of the character flying in the sky. You might not be afraid of Agemo as a character, but the sounds that accompanied her made her scary. Then, there’s the rustling, creaky reverb of the trees each time Gbotija tries to control them. If you consider all these in the film, you will see it is different to Gangs of Lagos and A Tribe Called Judah.

How do you intend to redefine and distinguish yourself as a music composer in Nollywood?

If I had been seeing this as music production in filmmaking, I would have done the same thing as everyone else. It is now film scoring. If you are scoring a film, you are not just producing music. Scoring involves paying close attention to every camera movement and nuance.