Keyboardist and musical director for Craig David and Cat Stevens - Kwame Yeboah
This video features an interview with Kwame Yeboah, a professional keyboardist, musical director, and producer known for his work with artists like Craig David, Cat Stevens, and Shola Ama. The discussion focuses on how Kwame uses Gig Performer to power complex, professional-grade live performances.
Key Highlights:
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Transitioning to Gig Performer: Kwame shares his journey from hardware-heavy setups and earlier software like MainStage—which he noted caused CPU performance issues and led to a notable crash at Wembley Stadium
(19:05 - 21:05)—to adopting Gig Performer. He highlights the stability and flexibility of the platform for managing multiple soft synths, samples, and complex routing. -
Workflow & Programming: Kwame explains his process of “recreating the record” live, working backward from studio sessions to rehearsals. He demonstrates his use of Gig Performer to manage splits, layers, and song parts, allowing him to perform dense, multi-instrumental parts solo (37:00 - 43:37).
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Innovative Technique – MIDI Finger Tapping: A unique feature Kwame uses to manually clock sequences and stay in sync with live drummers without needing a rigid click track (1:04:22 - 1:08:18).
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Advice for Beginners:
- Labeling: Kwame stresses that consistent labeling of plugins, filters, and connections is the most critical factor for avoiding confusion during complex programming (1:15:14 - 1:16:12).
- Monitoring: He recommends using signal meters within the software to quickly troubleshoot audio issues during soundchecks (1:16:12 - 1:17:02).
- Avoid Loops: He warns against MIDI feedback loops when using multiple interconnected programs (1:17:06 - 1:19:33).