Know Yourself: Gafacci on Respectful Collaboration

Solo music production can lead us to create problems we can’t solve on our own. Out of nowhere, the track demands something - a beat, a melody or a vocal - that we know we could never produce.

If you’re lucky enough to know someone who can, the solution might seem obvious – phone a friend. But the solution also introduces new problems. Assuming your talented friend says yes, how do you ask them for what you want? What if they can’t do it, or you don’t like what they do? How do you talk to them about money and writing credit without it getting weird? And what do you do if it does get weird?

One answer to all these questions might be: ask Gafacci – a results-driven songwriter, producer and DJ with an open-minded approach to collaboration and a good sense of what he can and can’t create by himself. “I think about collaboration when I feel like I’m hitting a roadblock,” he says, “when I feel like I don’t have the skill to execute the stuff that I want to do.” 

Gafacci’s self-knowledge, combined with his inventive approach to rhythm and his open ear to the people and things in his immediate environment in Accra, Ghana, have led to some striking co-creations. He knows a great idea can come from anyone, anywhere; whether it’s the rapper in the studio or the woman selling pastries in the street outside. 

We invited Gafacci to Loop Create 2022 to answer your questions about how he approaches cooperation in the studio. How does he find the right people to work with? How does he give his collaborators feedback and direction? What does he do when it’s time to talk about splits? Hear Gafacci and Loop moderator Juba cover all this and more in this Loop Session, and learn more about the subtle art of making music together from a producer who loves working with people. 

Keep up with Gafacci on Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram and Bandcamp.