Don Santo’s Speech Delivered For Kenya’s Election 2017

“Honour”

Hello folks,

A great nation is one that is built off of high standards of achievement, not only in the area of economy or democracy, but in character and leadership. In the way in which we present ourselves to the world, and the way in which we intend the world to see us.

I this day, wanna talk about honour defined as “high respect, esteem, the adherence to what is right.” But that begs the question, what defines what is right and what is wrong? How does one determine, within the complexity of our world today, the small, sometimes minute elements of an action that define it as “the right thing to do” when presented with a difficult situation? We overcome all these challenges and forge on as a nation.

However, there is a point in our journey that we stepped in a pool of mud that has since refused to leave the sole of our most valuable shoe: Corruption and tribalism. I guess this atmosphere filled with an air mixture of mediocrity and varied degrees of backwardness has created a humid weather fertile for ensuring the mud does not dry out. Remember it is mud with a permanence that cannot be altered. So we believe.

Remember that instinct, that intuition that helps make critical decisions in the blink of an eye… that helps make that choice between action and inaction… that is something that must come from within. 

Whether you believe it or not, Kenya looks up to you now. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your children and children children. Walk around and you’ll meet great people who do not speak your mother tongue and never knew they existed.

We exist in a society today where the act of helping one another seems to have become increasingly infrequent. The media portrays the world as a pretty horrible place. Leaders have been found killed and nothing done about it. How many unknown Kenyans face the same fate in the hands of gangstas and after a few PR stunts by authorities, we see them walk freely on the streets for luck of evidence. Hahaha. Indeed it is luck of honour.

Now those facts… they were easy to find. All you have to do is open up any news website on the internet, or tune into to any news channel on the television to be inundated with the information that our world is inherently bad, that the actions of human beings are atrocious, and that violence is too much a part of culture, hatred is too much a part of our existence, to ever be eradicated.

What they don’t tell us, however, what’s harder to find, is what people do for one another each and every day that is good. What about the Beyond Zero Campaign. What about Lupitah Nyong’o and the many Kenyans doing great at home and beyond.  What about that gentleman who found a bag with Ksh. 100,000 lying on the side of the road and went to great lengths to find its rightful owner rather than keeping it for himself? Now some of you are probably laughing right now. What an idiot, who would give up Ksh. 100,000? Finders keepers, losers weepers, right? But the fact is that you are Kenyans. And that changes things.

Good is all around us, but sometimes we get confused. What about that man who comes in late because they were helping a friend clean up the cafeteria. But now here’s the inherent problem, and we see it within our own nation, just as sure as we see it anywhere else. What happens to that man when they start picking up after their friends? What happens to that man when they offer to help someone? I know, because oftentimes I am that man. And you know what happens? They get laughed at. Laughed at for extending a helping hand, laughed at for offering to make somebody’s life just that much easier.

My prayer is we rejoice in doing good things. The small things you do everyday… those are things that will define the Society after my generation leaves, and those are the things that will define you as individuals. It is expected of each and every one of us, that we are the ones who rise above the petty laughter and immaturity, that we are the ones willing to go to the extra lengths to ensure that the cafeteria is kept clean, or that somebody in need is assisted. And I hope and trust that you will live up to those expectations.

Let me tell you now that while there may be some people who will complain and say that what we do is unimportant, there’s a far greater amount who recognize the significance of what we do, and a far greater number of people who need us.

I pass the torch to a new generation of members of a society that lives for honour. All of you here, are leaders. Whether you are leaders because of your academic achievement, leaders in arts, sports or in business, you represent the part of the Kenya that we as a community are most proud of. You represent that difference between right and wrong. That choice between action and inaction.

I trust that each and every one of you will strive to live up to the expectations of your community, country, but most importantly, yourselves.

Finally, this election is not about taking sides, its about doing right for you and your children. This can only happen if our preferred criteria enables us get the crème de la crème of our day.

Asanteni,

Don $anto

EAMAward Winner,

Leader At The Klassik Clan

#iAmKlassik

#DonSanto4President

How To Avoid Mistakes Every Beginner Producer Makes

In many ways, the trajectory for a DJ is simple: master technical fundamentals, get great at selecting music, and try and develop a unique style that’s all your own. While the trajectory for production is in some ways very similar, modern DAWs provide such a myriad of options that make it easy to fall into one of many pitfalls, especially when just starting out! Today we’re looking at 5 of the most common mistakes almost every beginner producer makes, and how to avoid them.

Beginner Producer Mistakes

1. LESS IS ALWAYS MORE

When starting out, the impulse of the vast majority of producers is to grab at every extra plug-in and piece of tech they can get their hands on, and why not? Each product invariably markets itself as the be-all, end-all product that will immediately inject your tracks with fresh energy and life.

While it’s true that there are a lot of pieces of gear and plugins out there that (when used properly) are godsends, grabbing a handful of them and throwing them into your newest track won’t do anything but throw in a bunch of processing that’s too complex for you to handle.

It might be difficult, but instead of trying to use a million different tools to achieve the same effect, try becoming an expert in using a few: mastering one synth and one compressor will do far more for your workflow than half-understanding the functions of ten synths and twenty compressors, a mantra that’s been repeated by the likes of Skrillex, who made his entire Scary Monsters album with only Ableton’s onboard processors.

2. LOUDER DOESN’T MAKE IT BETTER

There’s perhaps nothing more infuriating in the world of production than lovingly mixing down a track, spending hours tweaking every knob, every parameter, automating down to the second, and then referencing it to a professional club track and watching your smile sink slowly as your track is absolutely pummeled by the thump of its professional counterpart. For a lot of producers, this is a massive source of frustration, and rightfully so, as it can feel like there’s absolutely nothing one can do to compete on the level of these thumping mixes.

The solution that a lot of beginning producers jump to is the notorious “brickwall” limiter, which is basically akin to using a butcher knife where you should use a scalpel. The reasoning often cited for this practice is usually something along the lines of  “Mastering techs use limiters, and they make loud tracks, so I should too.” Unfortunately this results in all kinds of negative and unanticipated effects, like pumping sounds, dynamics loss, and distortion. Ultimately, it’s better to take some time to learn a bit about the mastering process, or to save up to pay a mastering engineer, than to take the easy route and absolutely squash your tracks.

 

3. DON’T FEAR THE PRESETS

It seems increasingly that the production world is divided into those who view presets as the ultimate cheat, and those who view them as the only way to produce. While their ultimate purpose likely lies somewhere between those two opinions, it’s incredibly important to have a reasonable approach to presets (and by extension, samples and sample packs).

Many producers might cringe at the sound of a Nexus piano preset, it’s important to remember that the end goal of a producer should be satisfaction artistically with themselves and with the audience, which may or may not be comprised of people who can recognize presets. This isn’t necessarily license to go and write something like “KNAS,” but you should always keep an open mind to both samples and presets, if only as tools to compliment your sound and radically increase your efficiency.

An easy way to use presets and samples without losing the integrity of a track is to mix genres that traditionally aren’t related: for example, try using hip-hop synth samples in a techno track; you’ll find that the jarring presence of a sound from an entirely different sonic universe can produce some exciting and novel results.

4.  I SOUND LIKE [FAVORITE PRODUCER], AM I FAMOUS YET?

Far too many producers confuse learning the ins and outs of a system with learning how to make a specific product. When starting out, the drive is somewhat clearly to make a track reminiscent of the track that got you into production in the first place, or at very least, the track you love at the moment. In a recent interview with DJTT, Lucky Date recommended emulating the sounds of a favorite artist as a great starting place for new producers.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with having a fondness for a sound or style, but producing with a constant eye towards making one type of sound will stunt one’s growth as a producer and as a musician. Tutorial-hunting and remake attempts will only teach you the sound that is the end result of a process invisible to everyone but the original producer.

Instead, spend time reading and learning about general techniques of compression, EQing, and sound design; the end result will be a much richer production experience and a wealth of knowledge that’s applicable to a wide variety of production styles and changing tastes.

5.  OBSESS OVER THE ART, NOT THE CRAFT

This is a simple thing to remember, but it’s lost on tons of producers starting out: there will be a point at which you are fairly comfortable with your production skills. Whenever that point may be, it’s crucial to remember that a production skillset isn’t the end goal, writing music is!

It’s fantastic to have a well-mixed track with plenty of perfectly synthesized sounds, but if it’s a boring track, no amount of clean mixdown will ever make it interesting. Think of the core principles of sound design as guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Once you’re relatively comfortable with understanding each of the features of your chosen DAW, try doing something unconventional or even technically “dumb,” like using a limiter on a single track, or heavy reverb on a bassline, or using a really wide imager on a synth line. These adjustments might not make your track better technically, but this sort of experimentation is almost always guaranteed to make your track more interesting.

BEST FOR LESS

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