Olive Emwanta Umodiagbon, the Nigerian drummer and producer who records as Sparkamani, opens his two-track project Midnight with a simple but confident statement: the drums are not the background here. On "Drumma," the percussion leads everything, with a bassline holding the groove steady as different drum patterns layer in and out. What keeps it from feeling like a solo showpiece is the xylophone, whose lighter notes cut through the heavier rhythm and give the whole thing a playful, melodic quality. A piano also features in the arrangement, though it sits back and lets the drums and xylophone carry the conversation.
"Ghost" shifts the mood entirely. Sparkamani moves into house music territory, bringing in a heavier bassline, energetic drum patterns, and vocal elements that sit inside the production rather than sitting on top of it. Where "Drumma" gives you space to listen to each instrument individually, "Ghost" is all about the collective groove, the kind of thing that makes sense on a dance floor as much as it does through headphones.
The two-track format does leave you wanting more room to explore what Sparkamani is building. But even within these two songs, his approach is clear. The drums carry the music, and every other instrument, from the bass to the xylophone to the vocals, has been arranged around them rather than the other way around.
There is also a producer's instinct at work on "Ghost" specifically. The beat has enough open space that you can hear where a vocalist or rapper could come in and make something entirely new out of it. Whether Sparkamani moves in that collaborative direction next is the question worth watching.
Originally published by NotJustOk.