EXCLUSIVE: Tochi Bedford 'After Eternity'

AFTER ETERNITY: THE PERFECT LANDING

Tochi Bedford is crystal clear.

Photography & Cover Design: The xInsomniac

Creative Direction + Styling: The xInsomniac

Written by: Biyi Campbell

Tochi Bedford has laser focused eyes. The same eyes are glued to the screen of his laptop when I arrive to tell him it’s time for his interview. The same eyes are staring back at me when we’re finally seated for the interview. I propose a stare-off and he cannot hold back his laughter. He’s finally comfortable. It’s with this same laser focus Tochi listens to and trusts his gut whenever he’s picking out beats or music. Time and time again the producer turned artist (As coined by Apple Music) has always trusted what his inner genius tells him.

“I was born in in Abia state and I grew up in Lagos. Ibo was my first language but I’ve forgotten most of the Ibo that I used to speak” he says.

The only language which Bedford never forgets is the language of his gut. That feeling which he gets when he knows he’s made a fire beat or song, it never ever lies. And speaking that language, trusting himself and what his greatest decision maker tells him, has led him to where he’s at now. Going 2/2 and dropping back to back projects in two years and without cranking down the heat.

And so this, After Eternity: The Perfect Landing. The exclusive story of The Leader of the Mob. His past, present and future. Young Tochi bet on himself and never stopped Mobbin’.

Photograph by The xInsomniac

Photograph by The xInsomniac

NEXVILLE: WHAT MADE YOU GET INTO MIUSIC? FIRST EXPERIENCE THAT MADE IT CLICK FOR YOU.

TOCHI BEDFORD: I was making games at 14. I went into music because I wanted to make sounds for my games at the time. So one of my uncles left a copy of FL, he’s a keyboardist, and he installed it on my pc. I used to see him just mess around with it. But when is I started messing around with it I was maybe like 15. Around December of that year, yeah.

NEXVILLE: SO WHO WAS YOUR EARLIST INFLUENCE? WHO DID TOCHI THE FANBOY ALWAYS LISTEN TO?

TOCHI BEDFORD: DRAKE. Yeah I used to listen to a lot of Drake. I never used to store or own any music so wherever I could find music then I’d just listen. And there was this girl in my secondary school, she was my senior and I was in like Js2, I just used to bump songs on her laptop so Drake was what I always listened to.

When asked about who emerged first, The rapper or the producer? He gives the answer we’re all guessing. “Definitely the Producer”. He’s staring into space as he unwinds the tale of his emergence. “I was producing a long time before I started recording anything. From 2015 down.” And with that same laser focus, his mind is moving at a 1000 thoughts per second. He’s navigating his greatest asset, digging and searching his mind for the memories of when he started out and the periods he was honing his craft. His leap from Lab to booth.

TOCHI BEDFORD: I think 2018 was the time I recorded the first thing I ever put out. And I used to do like these Friday night sessions at Abstraktt’s studio in Lekki and do these all night sessions. So one of those days when everyone had like crashed, maybe like 3 am, I just recorded like one song and that was how it started.

Photograph by The xInsomniac

Photograph by The xInsomniac

That night changed everything. It was a step to one of the many sides of the music making process. He was now creator as well as executioner. Author and Finisher of his own heat. But Bedford sees himself as absolute, and not necessarily having two sides. He doesn’t think he does any conscious balancing or doubling as an Artist and Producer. And who better to know this than the man himself?

So it wasn’t a case of one over the other. He does both recording and producing but as one. The rubbing of ideas with Abstraktt proved to be productive but it was with 44db- a collective of producers that he founded- that Bedford would truly become the Champion of his sound.

In an interview with Makua Adimora for MoreBranches last year, Bedford and the 12 other members of the collective spoke about their journey, process and how they all work together. They aren’t here to take part but to take over. He was trying to plan an event in 2018 and added some producers he knew to a group chat. The event was later scrapped but the group was there to stay. The old members added new ones, and 44db became the Producer powerhouse it is today.

The constant exchange of beats and ideas between the group made them smarter, sharper and better. It became a budding and electric environment that saw them grow and develop a sixth sense for delivering killer beats. Now, they never miss. They aren’t here to take part.

Bedford came out at the other end an excellent, skilled and widely sought after producer who now had the skills to complement his other branch. He was ready. And so with each release, from No Pressure to the soon to be released After Eternity, Bedford only got better. Now, it was time to cook.

There are three things Bedford will never compromise on. Our cookbook on how he stays creating. Comfort, Collaboration and Confidence. We’ve seen how he gave his time, effort and exchanged ideas and beats with fellow artists, friends and producers. From sessions with Abstraktt, to making and exchanging beats with fellow members of the super-producer collective 44db, and even collaborations with Santi, DND, Odunsi, Zarion Uti, Traplanta and Bratzbih to name a few, Tochi Bedford was putting in the work. This mix of synergy and support fuelled his propulsion into Eternity.

But he manages not to get ‘lost in the sauce’. Remember. Laser Focus. Focused on being him. On making beats. On giving out heat.

TOCHI BEDFORD: I just make beats whenever I want to and if a mic is around me at the time and I’m really in the mood then I’ll record. Sometimes I’ll record the beat and still send to people.

For the ‘Producer turned Artist’, he believes doesn’t necessarily have to do any balancing between recording and producing. It literally just depends on what he feels. Whatever he is comfortable with.

Photograph by The xInsomniac

INGREDIENT 1: COMFORT.

NEXVILLE: THE PROJECT’S ABOUT TO DROP. HOW ARE YOU FEELING?

TOCHI BEDFORD: I can’t lie I’m feeling kind of excited cause the magnitude to which I’m doing things this time is sort of on a bigger scale to what I did the first time last year with Eternal Mob. It really opened a lot of doors for me and when it released I didn’t think it’d be as big as it got. But yeah, this one hasn’t dropped yet and people are really fucking with it already and it’s like things are really happening at a bigger scale.

After Eternity represents where he’s at right now. “The songs themselves are like representatives of where I am right now. Like a status update on Facebook or something like that.”

He’s extremely cozy and comfortable. He leans back smiling but is also explaining with careful detail his current mindset with this project and his current sonic stratosphere.

TOCHI BEDFORD: Definitely much higher than I thought I’d be. There are things that are happening right now that I didn’t think would happen for quite a while. And so it’s like speeding up and I’m not even 22 yet. And I’ve been doing this while I’m in school but I can’t wait to see what it’s like when I’m done with school (next year) and I can finally do a lot of other stuff that I haven’t been able to do.

INGREDIENT 2: COLLABORATION.

NEXVILLE: TALK TO ME ABOUT FEATURES REALQUICK. SUPPORT, FEATURES AND EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED WITH THE PROJECT.

TOCHI BEDFORD: On the project, in terms of producers, I met someone called SVT. We met online through Odunsi (The Engine) I think. He had been making stuff with Odunsi for a while and I don’t know I guess he just followed me one day and then we started sending each other loops and beats. There was a thing I did with Odunsi, a song called "benjis", in January of this year. I sent it to SVT, the song was basically finished, but I sent the beat file to him and he ended up changing it into something completely different. It’s the same song and same vibe and everything but it sounded very different from what I did and it was so cool so like I kept it and that’s how we made "benjis". It’s one of the songs I made in January.

There’s also another song we did on that day, "m.i.a". It was produced by someone else in 44, John. So I recorded the chorus to "m.i.a" on my own. Actually what happened was that John sent a voice note of a beat and I just finished recording that demo and I don’t know it was playing and my song was playing on the speakers at the same time and I was just like My vocals go with this thing. So I sent him like the vocals and said he should try and put it on the beat and let me see then he sent it back and it was sounding kind of cool. I got him to send me the beat file and I just recorded everything again. So yeah we recorded "m.i.a" and "benjis'' on the same day.

Photograph byThe xInsomniac

Photograph by The xInsomniac

INGREDIENT 3: CONFIDENCE.

On his Journey to Eternity and back, Bedford didn’t see anything as much of a struggle. Like he said, he just wanted to make beats. And if he sent it to someone and didn’t get a reply, that was calm. It’s all about the focus for him. He’s always been about creating and that will never change. It’s his identity and his element. Right now, at the dawn of After Eternity, he tells me that everything is falling into place for him and he loves it. He’s calm and unfazed. Smiling even. He’s here but his mind is in memory of things yet to happen. Bedford is buzzing!

TOCHI BEDFORD: You know when something happens and it just feels right because it just flows? Yeah. That’s exactly what it’s like for me now.

Things are bigger than ever for the Rapper right now and he’s basking in confidence. The trust and belief he invested heavily in himself is all starting to pay off. He’s not shying away from it at all. The perfect landing, his final stop after journeying through eternity, sees him making moves he never thought he’d be making at this stage or age. As in the beginning, he’s filling his tank. Doing more things so he can grow other aspects of his Artistry, particularly his visual side.

TOCHI BEDFORD: For this project I’m doing a lot of things that I did not think I’d be doing. Like there’s a music video, Merch, things like that. So I didn’t think I’d do that for any release anytime soon. So I guess we’ll see what’s next sha.

So After Eternity: The Perfect Landing is a deep dive into the man behind the tag and the sounds that have shaken up the industry. It’s a perfect Landing for Bedford. He’s comfortable, confident and ready for what’s to come next.

The Secret to it all? The Perfect Landing is the ultimate cookbook for anyone looking to make that leap from lab to booth.

Comfort, Collaboration and Confidence. Tochi Bedford is forever focused and not slowing down. We loved the perfect landing and we’re excited for the next take-off.

Listen to Tochi Bedford here