EthioCreatives sat down with producer and songwriter Yamlu Molla for a quick chat. Find out what five things make up this talented composer's life in this exciting 5 things interview.

EC / 1: What makes a great producer? Is your approach different from other producers in Ethiopia? What would be the major reasons to go into a professional studio over a home-recording setup?

I believe in patience. Respecting the process is essential. We are making records that will touch many people and hoping it will inspire generations to come and that requires patience and enduring many difficult seasons of working hard to see the fruit.

I think the way I used Ethiopian traditional instruments is different for everybody. How? I don’t know. I hear it that way :). I grew up in Ethiopia listening to so much eclectic music. Plus the culture here and the culture from western media have influenced me equally that when it comes to producing music I have learned to fuse both and marry the two without leaving my roots.

There is no such thing. Just do what you can with what you have and the rest is up to the listener. But for me, I love big studios and gears so maybe I might lean on the bigger studios more.

EC / 2: What do you think of modern production compared to the stuff you grew up listening to? What kind of genre gives you that Nostalgic feeling? Two artists, you can't live without?

I believe every song is modern when you put it in its era.

Well, maybe the old traditional songs that we grew up listening to and most of the western 70- 90s music.

Sorry, I don’t have any special artists. I love and listen to many every artist is unique in their craft and element. And I love many of them in their uniqueness which makes it hard to choose. Instead of naming them, I would rather say I love anyone who dares to be themselves and show what they have in their way.

EC / 3: Tell us about your studio. How many albums have you produced so far and with who have you worked so far?

I have Produced many albums. Although I can't list every album here to name a few recently I have produced betty G's Album which we took album of the year on Afrima... Chelina's Album which we also took album of the year on Leza Show Awards and Zerubabbel Molla's Album which I took the Best Producer of the year on Hulu Addis Radio Awards.. and I have many more waiting to be released soon (Dess music, Dibekulu, Micky Hasset , Fela , Donat , Mulualem Takele, Yos, Bitania, Blen Yosef...

When it comes to my own project, the name of the album is called Elf and is dedicated to my mother (Elifinesh Hailu) in honor of her legacy. I have taken a different approach and instead of producing a single artist, I have collaborated with different artists to bring out the best color.

The songs are written, produced, mixed, and mastered by me under YamluMollastudios and the artists were selected depending on who would fit best for the specific song. Other than that we are not dropping the whole album at once, we are dropping a song at a time each Thursday on YouTube, all online platforms national radios, and television for straight 11 weeks. Five of them have already been posted on our youtube channel and the remaining six will be released every Thursday respectively.

EC / 4: How many of the artists you work with can match live what they’ve done in the studio? Is this the norm now? Having the same sound on live shows and studio sessions.

I can say I'm lucky to work with really good artists. Maybe it’s because I’m very selective, blessed or both. I love to listen to what’s in their heart regarding their project instead of pressuring them to only do my ideas. I'm here to support, cheer and lead them.

EC / 5: You're a private person. We don't know much about your private life (not that we should, but we are rather nosey). Can you tell us about your hobbies? a little about your life minus music. How do you relax? What's a Yamlu weekend look like?

Simple family man. I work in day time like regular people so, after work, I don’t like staying late I usually go straight home after work. I'm married to a very peaceful and beautiful wife and we have 8 months old son who gladly takes up most of our free time.

So I spend most of my time with them or I'll go to my parent's place on the weekends...other than that my circle consists of few friends and I’m also very close with my brother ( Zerubabbel Molla )

We Would like to thank Yamlu Molla for taking the time to chat with us. His latest album will be in stores soon.

Interview by Daniel Sahlu

Photography Aman X