Music Director: Kojo SamuelKojo Samuel is a multi-talented musical director, keyboardist and producer. He is originally from Los Angeles, however he now lives and works in the UK. In his early years Kojo Samuel started off putting all his time into production and recording, working as a producer, writer and remixer for the likes of Mica Paris, Lynden David Hall and US-based production team Sa Ra Creative Partners. However, the combination of his previous experience and skills, eventually enabled him to have a position as a successful musical director for artists/bands such as: Jessie J, Plan B, The Sugababes, Tinchy Stryder, Katy B, Delilah, Taio Cruz, Jay Sean, Devlin, Clare Maguire and a host of other radio A-listers.“There’s a number of things to look at when choosing a band for a project. Obviously, you need good players who can play the music they need to play, but they must also have a good understanding of the music. For example, when choosing someone to play with an act like I Blame Coco, they have to understand her particular musical genre and also get where she’s coming from. Musically and stylistically, the band has got to suit the music.”

Once Kojo has a band line-up sorted, he then goes through song arrangements deciding which parts of the record can come from a backing track, and which will be performed by the band.Part of Kojo’s approach to being a musical director is maintaining a keen interest in equipment, and continuing to learn more about equipment from other musicians.“My role as MD extends to knowing something about all the instruments, for example what different snares and cymbals sound like, what guitar amp is right for a particular sound.”