"O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation" Psalm 95:1
Genesis
My family and I joined Christ Apostolic Church, Pretoria, South Africa in 2009. The first thing I noticed was the choir (being the face of every church) and I was not greatly impressed. To be fair to them, I noticed a couple of raw talents who did not know what they wanted and where they were heading and I remembered the tears of Jesus in Jerusalem.
I had zero experience in music production but great ears for good music and a great ability in management; both human, talent and resources. God has also given me the gift of creativity. For more than one year, I watched them sing the same set of songs every Sunday unending. When I could take it no more, I invited the instrumentalist for lunch at the Home Base restaurant in Pretoria where I probed into the lives and future plans of each and everyone of them one after the other. They were raw diamonds and until they are cut and polished, they would only attract a fraction of their worth. Seun Adelola (aka:Yankee) emerged as the natural leader of the group for his managerial skills, good attitude towards learning, ability to turn ideas into music, his vocal versatility and deftness on the keyboard. Above all, he is not afraid of small beginnings – this remains his strongest quality.
I gradually pointed each one of them in their personal direction and collectively into forming a band. I introduced the need for them to understand what they do, researching for new knowledge daily and personal rehearsal everyday until they are sore. The world is no longer buying into mediocrity - only the best is good enough. And so the phrase; “99% is a failure” was coined and has become our slogan since then. To be described as “good” means you are not the best at what you do. An accolade of excellence means you are still being compared with the crowd. “Uniqueness” is our goal; where the band is in a class of its own.
We developed a military approach to everything we do and I give listening ears and support to each and every member of the band. Let me be quick to say that not all of them that I started with had enough resilience to forge on – so they fell behind along the way. However, clever and quick-witted musicians from other churches who recognized the potential quickly teamed up with the band. Therefore, not all Trinity members are from CAC however, Christ Apostolic Church remains the home of Trinity band.
At the end of 2011, we started putting together our first album; “the first visit of the Almighty” shortened to the “the first visit”. I also christened the band as “TRINITY” because all foundation must be upon Him and all business must partner with Him. To some of them, the name didn’t sound “hip” neither was it “hop” enough but they had no-say in it. I wanted the band's name to be presentable enough for those who can afford to spend good money on us, yet not loosing the young audience. We took this idea into our music and created a unique style of music that Trinity is known for today. We simply do not sound like some musician you know!
Secondly, we embarked on the mission to fuse the Nigerian and South African music into one appealing and melodious combination that has the impetus to carry both Nations along. My first mission was to erase from their minds the “musical boundary” which most people have created for themselves. For an example, it was believed and said that the “Nigerian talking drum” (gangan) cannot be played unto South African and Jazz music. We have successfully done this to the pleasure of everyone. We simply do not have musical boundaries as the ears remain the ultimate judge of every music and believe it or not, the sky is not our limit either because there is more to conquer beyond the sky.
It is my singular pleasure to present to you: Trinity “99% is a failure”.
Sincerely yours,
Dr Yomi Oyekanmi
(Founder: Trinity Band)
I had zero experience in music production but great ears for good music and a great ability in management; both human, talent and resources. God has also given me the gift of creativity. For more than one year, I watched them sing the same set of songs every Sunday unending. When I could take it no more, I invited the instrumentalist for lunch at the Home Base restaurant in Pretoria where I probed into the lives and future plans of each and everyone of them one after the other. They were raw diamonds and until they are cut and polished, they would only attract a fraction of their worth. Seun Adelola (aka:Yankee) emerged as the natural leader of the group for his managerial skills, good attitude towards learning, ability to turn ideas into music, his vocal versatility and deftness on the keyboard. Above all, he is not afraid of small beginnings – this remains his strongest quality.
I gradually pointed each one of them in their personal direction and collectively into forming a band. I introduced the need for them to understand what they do, researching for new knowledge daily and personal rehearsal everyday until they are sore. The world is no longer buying into mediocrity - only the best is good enough. And so the phrase; “99% is a failure” was coined and has become our slogan since then. To be described as “good” means you are not the best at what you do. An accolade of excellence means you are still being compared with the crowd. “Uniqueness” is our goal; where the band is in a class of its own.
We developed a military approach to everything we do and I give listening ears and support to each and every member of the band. Let me be quick to say that not all of them that I started with had enough resilience to forge on – so they fell behind along the way. However, clever and quick-witted musicians from other churches who recognized the potential quickly teamed up with the band. Therefore, not all Trinity members are from CAC however, Christ Apostolic Church remains the home of Trinity band.
At the end of 2011, we started putting together our first album; “the first visit of the Almighty” shortened to the “the first visit”. I also christened the band as “TRINITY” because all foundation must be upon Him and all business must partner with Him. To some of them, the name didn’t sound “hip” neither was it “hop” enough but they had no-say in it. I wanted the band's name to be presentable enough for those who can afford to spend good money on us, yet not loosing the young audience. We took this idea into our music and created a unique style of music that Trinity is known for today. We simply do not sound like some musician you know!
Secondly, we embarked on the mission to fuse the Nigerian and South African music into one appealing and melodious combination that has the impetus to carry both Nations along. My first mission was to erase from their minds the “musical boundary” which most people have created for themselves. For an example, it was believed and said that the “Nigerian talking drum” (gangan) cannot be played unto South African and Jazz music. We have successfully done this to the pleasure of everyone. We simply do not have musical boundaries as the ears remain the ultimate judge of every music and believe it or not, the sky is not our limit either because there is more to conquer beyond the sky.
It is my singular pleasure to present to you: Trinity “99% is a failure”.
Sincerely yours,
Dr Yomi Oyekanmi
(Founder: Trinity Band)