A Nigerian music producer and a host of upcoming artists have more than doubled a world record with a historic recording session.
Idem Abasifreke and Beatisblaak Studio hosted the longest recording marathon with multiple artists, totalling an incredible 95 hr 59 min, starting on 10 February.
That’s just one minute short of four full
Idem at his desk
It beat the previous record of 40 hr 19 min, also set in Nigeria in 2022.Advertisements
Idem invited aspiring and rising performers from all over the country to join him in his ambitious attempt.
The motivation behind it was to become a record-breaking music producer while giving a platform to the singing and rapping stars of tomorrow.
He told us: “With the happiness in the faces of the music artists and their willingness to record for an hour each, every day was a new experience, music and vibes.
“I was happy but busy praying for success.”
As with all marathon attempts, Idem and his artists earned five minutes of rest for every hour of activity.
Idem did his best to sleep during his breaks, even if it was just for a few minutes, but said he often spent the time checking on everyone else and making sure all the guidelines for the record attempt were being followed.Advertisements
He didn’t even consume any caffeine to stay awake across the 95 hours.
“As a music producer I’ve been working a lot of day and night sessions,” he explained.
The only food he ate was rice and fruit, and he drank Malta Guinness mixed with milk powder.Advertisements
Idem admits the hardest part of the challenge was financing it and keeping his studio’s power system running for days on end.
Uploading his evidence – including almost 96 hours of recordings – also proved to be a lengthy process.
There were some technical difficulties too.
Idem said: “Electricity was one of the challenges we had because it was coming and going as we tried to keep the power running and data subscription for our Wi-Fi was getting slow and low due to the numbers of people using it.
“We planned to set the record at 100 hours but our timer stopped exactly at 96 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.”
Despite the hard work and challenges, Idem said it was all worth it.
“It’s a dream come true and I am still surprised and happy,” he confessed.
