Documenting and archiving live music performance in Nigeria: The veentage band experiment

Abstract

This paper discusses the resurgence of live music performance and its pivotal role in the current digital revolution in the 21st century; the focus is on Veentage Band as a point of reference. Germane issues such as authenticity, experience, sound architecture or soundscape, digital technology and stakeholders (musicians, artists, and sound engineers) central to proper understanding of values and the  importance of live music performance in the growth of music industry which hitherto were neglected in past studies in Nigeria are documented. Trending technology vis-à-vis modern audio equipment and instruments and their contributions to live music performance in 21st century are examined, we conclude the study by examining recent developments ‘fusion between two musical worlds; our indigenous musical culture and the influence of western culture’ in live music performance. The resurgence of live music performance has been helpful in maintaining the unique identity of these cultures. This paper draws from a number of sources such as oral interviews with the CEO Veentage band and his team, websites, journals, existing studies and recent findings.