CELEBRATING WOMEN
Amaarae’s world of Afro-fusion
Raised between Accra and Atlanta, Amaarae is a modern-day, multitalented star and a self-proclaimed Afro-fusion artist. Her music is an eclectic mix of genres, and draws inspiration from her heritage and the myriad influences she encountered growing up between two continents.
The 26-year-old’s career took off with the release of “Fluid” and “Passionfruit Summers” in 2019, and with follow-up track “Like It”, her sensual sounds and gender-fluid expression proved to be an immediate success.
“The heartbeat and core of my music is African. The drums, even though sometimes altered to fit more experimental styles, are still West African drum patterns,” Amaarae explains.
Like many artists navigating the constraints of making and sharing music during the pandemic, Amaarae has focused on using technology and her digital space to connect with fans.
As an Afro-Fusion artist, my aim is to meld styles and genres from all over the world while still maintaining the relationship with my culture through language, melodic and rhythmic choices
– Amaarae
While she says it was challenging to adapt and convert that energy to keep the momentum going, she’s most proud of “taking on steadfast decisions” as she moved to virtual performances and collaboration on digital platforms.
For Amaarae, this experience highlighted how important technology is for creative communities in Africa, and the ways in which it facilitates collaborations and helps artist communities and networks to flourish.
“All of us came up from a DIY culture; learning how to take photos, mix and master our music. We’ve built our own ecosystem and networks where we hire each other for work and we rely on each other’s input to further our respective crafts,” she says.
Here’s a closer look at the apps that take centre stage in her creative endeavours.
Finding her sound
As a producer and sound engineer, Amaarae’s creative process relies heavily on mapping out an idea in her mind and then fine-tuning the details. She’s an avid user of iMPC Pro 2: “The sound packs in there are so fresh, especially the pads. It’s great for making quick beat ideas that you can flesh out later,” she explains. IMPC Pro 2 is suitable for beginners, with sample templates that act as a foundation for new tracks, as well as blank templates for pro users.
Inspiration – anytime, anywhere
As an artist who’s constantly drawing ideas and motivation from her surroundings and from within, Amaarae says she needs a quick way of recording those light-bulb moments as soon as they occur. Voice Memos is her go-to app for saving her half-baked, spontaneous ideas so she can revisit and revise them later on.
Connecting and collaborating
Once a track starts to take shape, Amaarae is big on collaborating and bouncing ideas back and forth. Collect by WeTransfer has been instrumental in allowing her to seamlessly share her vocals, beats and stems with producers and creatives, especially during this climate of virtual collaboration. The Boards tab comes in handy for brainstorming and adding all relevant files, photos and documents in one space and can be shared with others so they can add their inputs.
Next-gen artists and beyond
Known for her multifarious style and daring fashion sense, Amaarae has her finger on the pulse of the music, fashion, dance and make-up scenes. With a desire to explore what’s trending and to draw from the creative energy of others, she frequently uses two apps in particular: “TikTok and Triller in the last year have been a great place for discovery, whether it’s music, dancers or make-up artists,” she says.
So what advice does this music star have for up-and-coming artists? “Have fun with what you’re doing, always. Our job is to bring joy and healing to the world. We can’t provide that to people if we don’t find it in ourselves,” she says.