Born Arinze Ononye, Weird Tyler is a 19-year-old EDM artist who is also an undergraduate at Babcock University. The fast-rising artist found electronic music through the radio and from then onwards, there was no turning back.
Netng caught up with the young producer and he enthusiastically told us about his love for EDM, his journey
How did you get into EDM?
“I was a casual listener of Afropop, rap etc, but I was a big fan of pop/rock music. I loved the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Paramore. So when the likes of David Guetta and Avicii became mainstream, it changed everything for me. I kept thinking to myself I just want to create something that would replicate what I felt the first time I listened to their music. Even though I had no clue what music production was about.
I went on YouTube and started looking for tutorials on how to make music like Avicii. It took 3-4 years to refine my skills. And through it, I found other EDM artistes and genres.”
What was your first encounter with EDM like?
“There is this radio show on Cool FM “Rick Dees Weekly Top 40” that’s how I first found Electronic music. From David Guetta – Titanium to LMFAO – Party Rockers to Avicii – Levels to Zedd – Clarity. This was in 2011, I remember I used to tune in every time we were driving home from church on Sundays and disturbing everyone in the car.”
Did you ever feel different about your type of music?
“Starting was hard, there was no one to teach me, nobody understood what I was talking about. No one listened to my type of music, I remember some close friends in school used to tell me I should leave EDM, why am I making ‘weird music’ that wouldn’t sell, that I should move to Afropop. The good thing is I don’t care much about what people think, it was the one thing I was passionate about and I wasn’t going to let it go. So I started following so many EDM artistes online, this showed me the vastness of Electronic music. EDM is one of the widest genres in music, with hundreds of sub-genres.
One thing that inspired me was watching music festivals on YouTube (Ultra, Tomorrowland). Hundreds of thousands of people from different countries and cultures come together to celebrate this form of music. It was euphoric. Anytime I was feeling down, I just went to watch it. I guess it showed me that success in this genre of music was a possibility.”
With all the odds against you, what motivates you to keep going?
“In 2018, after years of feeling like I was the only person making and listening to EDM in Nigeria, I found a community of like-minded individuals (producers, DJs, EDM lovers in general) through Sigag Lauren. Being in the community has helped me grow as an artist, we give each other feedback and tips on our work before it is released. When I was alone, I was my only critic. Also, these were people I relate to, people that understood me and there was no pressure to change my style of music. Having that has kept me going.”
Do you think EDM can get bigger in Nigeria?
“Seeing what happened with the “Alté” movement, I believe we can find dedicated fans that would listen to EDM, the only problem is reach, which is why I’m grateful you are doing this. Though slowly radio stations are playing our music, Pulse did an interview with us. Almost everyday people message me saying they really like what we are doing, that they are happy to find EDM artists in Nigeria.
Another way to maximize our reach would be getting more publications to write about us, also Nigerian artistes allowing us to remix their songs or collaborate with us. Chike made an album with some of us called ‘Dance of the booless’. Featuring us on playlists like Africa Rising, Africa Now on Apple music would go a long way too. YouTube Music launched a Playlist for us and many people have found us through it.”
