Akouo

Akouo is a bass player and composer - pretty much on the level of Quincy Jones. He's been recording a lot for an independent film as well as other album concepts and is known for touring around the world with a 40 piece band. You can find Akouo in the 2nd issue of Azur Magazine - which should be ready for download around the 18th of October . . .

(click web address to access the web site . . .)

for more information about Akouo . . .visit his web site at www.akouomusic.com

I was surfing reverbnation, one day, and came across a guy named Akouo. The music page read jazz and I liked his photography . . .so I checked him out. After sampling the first song, I was impressed and listened to the complete reverb album. Akouo is known for his bass playing . . .and you can see a bass in one of his pics representing the site . . .but his music is on a Quincy Jones level. I mean, really professional . . .lots of networking instrumentation . . .I had to get an interview with this guy. After learning more about Akouo and checking out his personal web site at www.akouomusic.com I became a fan and realized there's a whole world to discover about this guy and his music. I sat down to talk with Akouo . .. and here is what he had to say . . . . Azur Mag: Ok . .I have Kenneth Garnier with us . . .He's Akouo. Am I prouncing it, correctly? Akuou: Yeah . . that is correct . . .Akouo . . . Azur Mag: Akouo . . ok . . .Perfect . . um . .Why did you switch from drums to the electric bass at an earlier age . . .I forgot what age you were . .but . . um . . .I remember reading . .you did switch . . . Akouo: Well . . .my historical progression of instruments . . .now . . .I always tell people. . .when they ask . . .when did you begin playing? I tell them . . .and it sounds . . joke . . as if I'm joking . .but it's true . . .I tell people that I began at the age of four . . .and my first instrument was a tree. . .(laughs . .) Azur Mag: Right . . I remember that . . .Was it a palm tree . .or some kind of tree . . . Akouo: . . .and to make a very short story. . .or to provide a very short version of a longer story . . .something trumatic happened to me at the age of four . . .In my parent's back yard . .there was a huge avocado tree . . .and when this trumatic event happened to me . . .I ran to this tree . . .and . .I ran there for comfort . . .I put my . . .little hand . . my little arm around this avocado tree . . .in the back yard . . .and I started singing to myself . . .humming to myself . . .and that was my first musical experience that I can re-collect. . .when people ask me when did I begin playing . . .I say. . .at the age of four . . my first instrument was a tree . . .(laughs . .) . . .but what happened when I was around eight years old . . .there were six of us . . .I have two brothers . . .One of them . . which is my twin brother . . .he's five minutes older . . .and I have three sisters .. .Now, . . as a part of a house hold discipline . .we all had to learn piano . . .so . .when I was around eight . .of course my older siblings were already taking piano . . .but . . all of us had to take piano . . .We had the same teacher . .and his name was . . .Mr. Booker . . .Mr. Booker would come to the house . . .Monday . .and teach two of us . . .Wednesday . .teach two more of us . .and Friday . . .teach the final two . . .so he did that for years . . .so piano was my first instrument . . .and . .um . . my oldest brother . . .probably when I was around the age of . . .ten . . .eleven . . .my oldest brother . .he started playing trumpet . . .so he was the first one to break away from playing piano . .. he started playing trumpet . .so . . I wanted to learn how to play trumpet . .so . .I started studying after him . . .Well . .he formed a band . ..and the band rehearsed at our home . . .so . .I listened to the band . . .and I was fascinated by the band's dummer . . .so . .I started taking drum lessons . . .Well . . .around the age of thirteen . .fourteen . . .my twin brother started playing guitar . . .and I wanted to learn to play guitar . . .but he wouldn't let me . .because I'm left handed . . and he's right handed . .and I wanted to reverse the strings . .or turn the instrument around . . .and he's like . . .look . . .if you're going to play my guitar ,. .you're going to play it my way. . .so . .as a left handed person . . I learned how to play. . .right handed . . Azur Mag: Oh .. ok . . Akouo: . .so then . . .around that same time . . .you know . . .73' . .74' . . .75' . . I mean . .electric bass clearly moved to the foreground . . .So . . .I started listening to people like . .Bootsy Collins . .Stanley Clark . . .um . .you know . .Marcus Miller . . .Will Lee . . .Larry Graham . .Jaco Pastorius . . .so . . .I wanted to play bass . . .so I moved to the bass and that's where I've been ever since . . .I play other instruments too . .but. .bass is my primary instrument . . . Azur Mag: Oh . . .ok . . .and um . . .What was it about the electric guitar . .that turned you away . .which lead to the bass . . .I mean . . was it . . .basically hearing Jaco . .and Will Lee . . .and the other bass players . . or . . .what exactly was it . .that turned you away from the electric guitar . . .and . . you know . .presented the bass guitar . . .as the main instrument . . ? Akouo: Well . . I can tell you what happened . . .I went to ha P-Funk concert . . .I went to see Parliament Funkadelics . . .at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles . . .and . .the opening group was Sun . . .and then . .the second group was Bootsy . . .and . .of course . . his Rubber-Band . . .Once I saw Bootsy Collins play . . .I was done . . I switched to the bass, right afterwards . . .and I even told him that . .because I've seen Bootsy . .a couple times . . .I've hung out back stage with him . . .and I've told him the same story . . .and we've laughed about it . . .um . .because . . he had . . .that much influence over me . . where . .when I saw. ..him play bass . . I wanted to play . . .and so that's when I made the switch . . .It was like 75' . . .and . .um .. of course . .I started to follow . .people . .including Stanely Clark . . .Larry Graham. . .others that I got to see in concert . . .as I mentioned . . .so . . . Azur Mag: How do you feel about George Benson . .though . . as a guitarist . . .Who were you mimicing ? Akouo: I really like . . .I mean . .George Benson . .Earl Klugh . . .That style of music . . .It's very very nice . .very serene . . .um . .it's . .of course . . .rooted in traditional jazz . . .but it has some progressiveness . . .later on . . people started calling . . loud jazz . .or . .contemporary jazz . . Now, you hear people saying . . .smooth jazz . . .um .. oh yeah . . .George Benson . .another big influence on my life . . .Actually . . .his album . .Breez'n was one of my favorite albums . . . Azur Mag: Right . . .yeah . . .well . .How do you feel about Jaco Pastorius . . .You know . .with his success . .and then down fall . . .? Akouo: Well . ..that was very unfortunate . . .um . .what happened to him . . .um . . he was a genius . . .Some would probably call him . . .like James Jamerson . . .of the Motown era . . .um . .during those very, very . . .critical years . . .of them recording . . .how many groups . .. like . . .The Supremes . . .um . .Smokey Robinson and the Miracles . . . the Temptations . ..etc. . . .um . ..you know . .Jaco . . like James Jamerson . . .was some times described as a tortured genius . . .I read, later, that he suffered from some form of schizophrenia . . .which may have explained his mood swings . . .but in terms of music . . .Jaco . .was . . and is one of a kind - not just his approach of taking off his frets from the bass . . .and creating sort of an upright sound with the electric bass . . .but his whole melodic approach . . .which was , on one hand , to maintain . . .you know . .the bottom . ..anchoring the songs . . .with notes . .but then playing melodic lines . . often times the melodies . . .within those songs . .along with anchoring the songs . . .That made his approach very, very unique . . .in playing with people like Weather Report . . .and Pat Metheny . .who is also a phenomenal guitar player . . .um . . .Joni Mitchell . . .The list is long . . .but . . .um . ..but then his own solo projects . . .phenomenal . . .so I think . . .those two things . .Anchoring the songs. . .using . . um . .tasteful bass notes . . .but then. . .playing . ..within those . . .note choices . . melodic lines . . .and then. . .Jaco also incorporated other kinds of instrumental. . .sounds into his bass playing . .whether they were piano lines . .or bass guitar lines . . .or horn lines. . .He would incorporate . . .He would incorporate those lines, too . . so you're thinking. . .well . .that's something a horn player might use . . .but . . .that just really spoke to the incorporating way that Jaco approached . . .his playing . . . Azur Mag: Wow . . .ok . .. um . . .You switched to electric bass in the 70's. . . .Why didn't you follow Ron Carter and play the upright . . .and . .um . .What was it about the electric bass that made it more prominent than the upright bass . .so . .I mean . .why didn't . . . Akouo: Yeah . .and I have an upright bass . . .and I play upright bass . . .but I think . .what was happening at that time . . .particularly being a teenager. .most of the music . . .we listen to. . .and I'm a big fan of Ron Carter . . .big fan of his . . .um . .and you know . .his music is not just in jazz. . .you have a lot of people in the hip hop community . . .that have used . . you know . .his bass lines . . .or used some of his songs . . .because. . that's the nature of jazz . . the whole improv . . . .nature of jazz . . allows it to . .be placed in a lot of other music contexts . . .so . ..my focus on the electric bass. . .was largely because . . . .when you are listening to pop or popular music . . .um . . .that's what you're normally hearing . . .you know . . .James Jamerson played the upright. . . bass . . .and he played the upright . . .on some songs . .including songs that he played. . .for. .ahh . .Stevie Wonder . . .for example . . .but. . . .again . .with the electric bass being kind of a newer instrument . . .um . .you know . .going back to the early 50's . . late 60's . . .by the time it had reached the period of the 70's . . .um . .that's just what we were hearing more of on the radio . . . Azur Mag: Wow!!! Akouo: . . .but then the electric bass had clearly . . .moved from the back ground . .instead of just anchoring . . songs . . now, pretty much . . .a melody . .fore-ground instrument . . .um . .then . .that compelled me to focus more on . . .electric bass sounds . . .rather than . . playing upright at that time . . . Azur Mag: Right! . .yeah! . . .I had no idea . . .um . . .Jamerson had played upright for Stevie . .or any body . . .on Motown . . .That's good information . . . Akouo: Yup . . .He sure did . . . Azur Mag: Alright . .. .When did you come up with the name . .or the stage name Akouo? . . . Akouo: Ok . . That's a very good question . . .The word Akouo . . is actually a verb . . .It's a verb in the Greek vocabulary . . .and it means . . I hear . . .The word . .from which we get our English word. . .acoustics . . .and acoustics has to do with sound . . .so Akouo means I hear . . .and I use . .that as a music name . .or . . .as a stage name . . because . . .to me . . it's the best description . . .or descriptor . . of what I consider myself . . .being . .What I consider myself being . . .is . . .what I call . .an audiant visionary . . .and of course . .audiant . .referring to sound . . .visionary . .referring to what one sees . . .so . .as an audiant visionary . . .when I see things . . .whether they're things in my past . . .things in my present . . or things . . .that I might see in the future. . .um . . .they sound like something . . .and . .so . .my question as a musician . . .when I see things is . . .hmmm . .what does that sound like . . .So . .I write . . .what I see . .based on how i think it sounds . . .The Akouo . . .I hear . . . Azur Mag: Well . . ok .. .well. . . .I was going to . .or . .I guess I was reiterating here on this question . . .your real name is Kenneth P Garnier . . .Why didn't you stay with that name? . ..I guess the Akouo makes more sense . .though . . .? Akouo: Right . .you know . . people obviously call me both . . .I'm not particularizing on one . . .and excluding the other . . .but musically . . if I were to describe myself . . .again . .I describe myself based on . . .what things sound like. . .and so . . .for some strange reason . . .Kenneth P Garnier doesn't do it . . .(Laughs . . ) . . .but Akouo does. . .because it's about what I hear . . . Azur Mag: Right . . .ok . . .I noticed you had four albums on your web site for purchase . . .um . .how are your . . .sales doing . . .How's the marketing and sales doing on your four albums . . .? Akouo: That's a great . .that's a . .well I have two singles out . . .One . .that was back in 2002 . . .and that one was actually a part of a movie . . .based in 2003 . . .called Pretty Lady . .which was a Black independent film . . .um . .I released another single . . .or . .some call them EPs or extended plays . . .Signs and Times . .that was in 2010 . . .and . .I have hundreds of songs that I've written . . .I need to focus on . .putting in a full length . . .project . . and so that's . . what I did . .it took me four years. . . but . .um . . .forty five people on the project with me . . .including with me. . .44 with me being 45 . . .and . .you know . .some people live her in Minneapolis, St. Paul . .others live in other states . . .other people live outside of the country . . .So . .it took me a while to coordinate everybody to actually do this . . .but . . .um . .that's what I did . . .In terms of the market . . .well . . .you probably already know . . .that most people who are accessing music . .are doing it through . . .streaming services like Spotify . ..and Pandora . . .Unfortunately . . .people like Taylor Swift . . .and others have made the point . . .that streaming services don't pay writers . . .and they don't pay artist very well . . .So . .even though . . in answer to your question. . .yeah . .I'm pushing some CDs . . .and I'm pushing some digital downloads . . .but thousands of streams . . .go out every single month . . .but I'm only getting pennies on that . . .so in terms of . . .the marketing of it . . .those projects are on over a hundred sites - not just Amazon or Google Play . . .or itunes . . .You can buy on all of those . . or any of those on over a hundred sites . . .but . . most people are using streaming services . . .and the streaming services . . .they're paying pennies . . .so . . I can sell thousands through streaming . . .but. . .you know . .I might get a ten dollar check . . .(laughs . .) . .I mean . . .that is the reality . . . Azur Mag: Right . . . Akouo: It's not just me . . .It's every body . . . .If you have people like Taylor Swift . . who doesn't need the money . . .you have someone like her pull out of Spotify . ..that tells you . . .how the market is . . . Azur Mag: Right . ..Well . . .how do you feel about itunes? Akouo: Well . .it's great . . .in terms of . .if people are buying . . .through digital download . .that's great . . because. . .I'm both the publisher and the writer. . .so . . .the law is . .the publisher gets 50% . . . and the writer gets the other 50% . . .Well . . .I'm both . . .so . .that's 100% . . .If a person . . .digitally downloads a song . . .and let's say it sells for $1 . . . .I'm going to, probably, make $0.80 to $0.90 . . .off that dollar . . .Well if I sell . . .what ever number you want to throw out there . . .that's a good amount of money . . .but . .if it's. . .like I mentioned earlier . . .streaming services . .which is what most people are doing . . .then it's not going to be any where like that . . .because people are not keeping it . .they're not capturing it . . .It's not like they're putting it on their computer . . .or downloading it into their phones . . .they're just streaming . .they're just listening to it. .They don't, really, have it . . .and thus . .those companies are taking full advantage of that . . .fact . . They're making big money . . .through their sponsors . . .but . .in terms of paying artist . . .paying writers . . that's just not happening . . .not to those services . .or not now . .. Maybe . . .congress . . which has been viewing and reviewing . . .you know . .legislation that needs to reflect . . .contemporary musical culture . . .where people do stream and so forth . . .um . .that would be helpful . .but most of . . the language is more . .kind of antiquated . . .dating back to . .you know . .not so much the 8-track . . .and cassette tapes . .but . . .more like CDs and video downloads . . .but the language that really needs to be considered . . .has to do more with streaming services. . .That's something that congress needs to address . . and I know that ASCAP . . .and other musical societies. . .are tryign to help congress along. . .but there's still a ways to go . . . Azur Mag: Wow . .ok so . . .um . . .Have you thought about using other services or other distribution channels . . .or do you just want to stick with your own web site . . .? Akouo: Well . . .here's the current model . . .The current model is to write . . .record . .tour . . .and have a merchandise table. . . . Azur Mag: Right . . ok . . Akouo: That's the current model . . .Now, . . .that's not the model that I am using. . . um . . my main emphasis. . .is not on tour . .even though I do play . . .but . .I have a very large band . . .My band is almost comprised of thirty people . . .So, . . .I have a very large group . . .I mean . .a full horn section . . .a full vocal section . .vibraphone players . . .several guitar players . . .I mean . . I run with a large number of people . . .so . . .my band doesn't, particularly, perform out a lot. . .because I really don't want to manage that . . .um . .My focus is mainly on writing . . .and recording . . .and I'm two months out. . .to start my next project . . .about two years to complete . . .it's a fourteen song project . . .Like I said . .I have hundreds of songs . . .I don't have a song shortage. . . I just have to put people in place . . .to record for me . . .That's not a big deal . . .but . .it does take time . .to . . .do it right . . There's . . .McDonalds . . .and there's that . . .restaurant that has that slow cooked meal . . .You know (Laughs . .) . .and I'm into the slow cooked meal . . .That's why I use all those people on my projects . . .because I'm of that same era . . Quincy Jones . . .Earth, Wind and Fire . . .Tower Of Power . . you know . . .You gotta have the full sound . . .and I bring in live musicians . . .you know . .that's just .what I . . .yeah . . I could . .do Pro-Tools . . .and we could sample a little bit of this . . .a little of that . . .naww . . .I don't do it that way . . .I want to do it the way I'm use to . . .and that is . .bringing in live musicians . . .and putting out a qualitative recording . . .you know . .both musically . . .and . . lyrically . . . Azur Mag: Well . .ok . .I want to switch gears for a second . .um . . .When did you start playing Pedulla Basses? Akouo: Wow . . um . . .Man that's really my favorite bass . . .even though I own a bunch of basses . . .um . . .I began playing Pedulla basses . ..probably . . oh wow . . .um . . .I'd say . .about . . .a little more then twenty years ago . . .so probably . . .maybe twenty five years ago . . . Azur Mag: Oh ok . . .So I was going to ask you . .what kind of basses . . .you were playing before then . . .? Akouo: Well . . .I started off . . like a lot of people . . playing Fenders . . .um . . because that was kind of a standard bass . . .um . .for a lot of people. . . but I played Fender . . .I owned a Fender . . .or several Fenders . . I played Gibson . . .um . .Rickenbacker. . .um. . . wow . .years later I picked up some Peaveys . . .I have a 1976 Kramer . . .you know with the chrome . . .um . .the chrome head . . .um . .the split neck . . so I have a lot of instruments . . .but my primary instrument if I'm going to record . . .is going to be Pedulla . . .If I'm going to peform . . .it's going to be Pedulla . . .it's just that sound . . .It's how the instrument, itself, feels . . .but also the sound it gives me . . .it's just phenomenal . . . Azur Mag: It must be . .it's like a $5,000 instrument, right . . or . . . Akouo: Yeah . .they're very pricey . . .The one that I primarily play . . .is $3,000 . . . .but I've got some others that are . .yeah . . up there . . .$5,000 or more . . .and I have a baby grand piano that I bought . . .some years ago . .It was a . . .ahh .. it's a 1920 baby grand piano . . .that was completely restored . . .You know . . .that piano . . . um . .I have a bass that cost almost as much as . . .that piano . . .(laughs . . ) I mean . . .that piano is worth a lot more . . .but I was afforded an opportunity to meet an older gentleman . . .who was a piano restorer . . .and he, really, worked out a great deal for me . . .Anyway . . .that's another story . . but. . .yes . . Pedulla basses are very expensive basses . . .Now, I'm not going to say you can't buy a bass that cost . . .you know . .obviously $1,000 . . .or under $500 . . that's not good . . .but . .really . .you do get what you pay for . . .it's just true . . .You get what you pay for . .and Pedulla is . . .a phenomenal bass . . . Azur Mag: Yeah . . definitley . . .That's the bass I'd buy . . .but . .anyway . . .Have you performed or toured with other acts . . .? Akouo: Oh yeah . .yeah . . .That's a long history . . because . . .my web site only goes back to 2010 . . .so I've played with different people . . .years ago . . .um . . .some of the people I've played with. . .even though . . I didn't play with the people they played with . . .but I've played with people who have played for Prince . . .um . .Chaka Khan . . .James Brown . . .Parliament Funkadelic . . .um . .I'm sure that . . .if I didn't focus more on my writing . . .and recording . . .but focused more on my performing . . .sure . .I could play with any of those groups at any time . . .but that's not the use of my time . . .I think a better use of my time, personally . . .is in the writing and the recording . . .so . .that's just my preference . . .I think . .too . .I'm not against touring . .but it does put a lot of miles. . .on a person . . .and I'm not so particularly enthused about . . that I've done some of that . . .even out of the country . .I've played in South Korea . . .I've played in London England . . .I've played in the Caribbean on the island Antigua . . um . .I have no problem with that . .but I know there's a lot of . . .mileage that goes on a person . . .when you're going from airplane to city . . .to hotel to . . .a perfromance hall . .that's a lot . . .That's why . . .and I'm not saying this about all musicians. . .Some musicians have done a great job in peforming . . .but you can tell . . .by looking at some of them . . .there's a lot of wear and tear . . and . . .and . .I'm not sure that I want to do that, right now . . .um . .again . .people do hire me out to play bass . . .whether it's recording or performing . . .but . . .um . .personally . . .my preference is to do what I'm about to do . . .again . .in two months . . .get back in the studio . .and spend a couple years . . putting out a qualitative project . . .with, probably, forty . .fifty people . . . Azur Mag: Wow . . .Alright . . um . . let's see . . .I was going to ask . .who you've toured with . .but it's phenomenal to see who you've jammed with . . . Akouo: You can look up some of those names . .Like on my web site. . .some of the people who have recorded or performed with me . . .some of those people have played with every body . . .There was the Signs and Times EP . . Michael Nelson . . . . .Michael Nelson is of a group of horn players . . .here in the twin cities called the Horn Heads. . .They were Prince's first horn section . . .The Horn Heads are know all over . . .the world . . .They have fifty . .plus . .Grammy awards . . .associated with their name . . .and . .even Michael Nelson . . .he lives . . .in a very modest house . . He's probably a millionaire (laughs . . .) . . .he lives in a very modest house . . .in Minneapolis . . .and um . .you know . .he just makes most of his money . . .writing and recording . . .and then. .you know . . .sure . . .he'll get out and perform . . .He knows most of the money that's going to be made . . .is either by producers . . .or by writers . . . Now, . .the artist is writing and peforming . . .Yes . .that writer. . .that artist is going to make some money . . .but if you're not writing those songs . . .it's all going to be about the money you make through performing . . .and . .you know how it is in the performing arena . . .you know . .today you're hot . . .tomorrow, you're not . . .and so . . um . .good writers . . .will always make money . . .and . .so. .that's my focus, again . . .Just like Mike Nelson and other people I know . . .um . . who really want to focus on writing . . .and . .ahh . .my thing is though . . .I don't have to be the next Stanley Clark . . .the next Bootsy Collins . . or the next Victor Wooten . . .or . .I don't have to be those guys . . .um . .because . . um . . .they bring something to the table, I don't . . . but I bring something to the table they don't . . .so . .I just think we're all trying to contribute where we . .can or should . . .and . .again . . .my contribution to the musical arena . .is largely on writing . . good songs. . .recording them . .so that . . there's a permanent document . . .of what I've actually created . . .To me . .that's better than . .just playing . . .and gigging . . but I'm not . .against that . .because I've done that . . .and, again, . . .people still call me to play . . .and I do . .sometimes I put my band together . .Maybe I'll configure it as a trio . .or a quartet . . .If they want something larger . . .maybe I'll incorporate some horns . . .but if they want the whole "shebuang" . . .that's twenty to thirty people . . I can do that, too . . .It is very costly . . .to hire my group . . . Azur Mag: Yeah . .that's amazing . . .Thirty people . . . Akouo: Well . .. you can look at my web site . . and look at the optics page . . .and you'll see some pictures of me in concert. . .Look at all those people who are behind me . . .and that's not even all of them . . .There's a lot of people on that stage . . .at that concert . . .on my web site . . .on the optics page . . where I'm in concert. . . .there are twenty seven people on stage with me. . . Azur Mag: Wow . . .(laughs.. . ) . . . Akouo: (laughs . .) . . .so . .it's easier for me . .just to focus on my writing . . . .and the recording . . .I work with some of my bands . . .but, mainly, for release parties and all . . .um . . .that's just seems to me . . .my best way of contributing to the musical arena . . .and not putting a bunch of miles on me . .ok . .(laughs . . ) Azur Mag: Right . . . Akouo: (Laughs . .) Right . . . Azur Mag: Alright . . .what venues have you played . . .? Akouo: Well like . .. locally . . .popular venues like the Fine Line . .um . . . Dakota Jazz Club . . .um . .First Avenue . . .um . .you know . .those are some of the popular gigs around here . . .for people like Pince . . Parliament Funkadelics . . .you name it . . have played . . . so . .I've played all of the major . .smaller venues, here . . .then there's the Target Center . . .or Excel . .where . .you know . .you have the Rolling Stones . . .or Beyonce . . .I haven't played any of those venues . . .but I've played the smaller . . or moderate sized venues . . .pretty much all over the twin cities . . .I've played colleges . . universities . . . Azur Mag: So . .you're from Minnesota . .right . . ? Akouo: Well . . .I'm not from Minnesota . .I was born and raised in Los Angeles . . .I moved here in 1983 . . . Azur Mag: . .to Minnesota. . .? Akouo: Yeah . . . Azur Mag: Oh . .ok . .I apologize for not knowing that . . . Akouo: No . .it's ok . . . . .it's all good . . . Azur Mag: Alright . .so you plan to incorporate other radio promotional companies . . .like Loggins . . .promotion . . .or Bryan Farrish . . .for . .um . .radio shows . . .I mean . .do you do your own promotion . .or . . .is it mainly sound tracks that you work with . . . Akouo: It's mainly sound tracks that I work on . . .um . . I do have a company . .which name escapes me. . .It's a company out of England . . that wants to . . .um . .commercialize my music . . .which again . .I had some of my music . . .um . . .in a movie . .back in the early 2000's . . .but I'm . .finishing reading this contract . . .about twelve pages . . . and .. um . .I think I might sign on with them . . .and they're going to shop it for commercial use like movies . . .and TV commercials . . .etc . . .So . .I'm still . . .kind of in the early stages . . .well . .I wouldn't say early stages . . .um . . .I'm going to be entering some other stages . . .of . .music . . .exploitation . .How I can further . . .get my music out . . . .I do . .also have a friend . . who lives out in Las Vegas . . . He's a promoter . . .a professional . . .promoter . . .and he has got me on radio . . .like in Las Vegas . . .and he's looking at other possibilities . . .That happened earlier this year . . .So . .I do have other prospects . . . .to promote my music . . . Azur Mag: Wow . . .um . . .So . .do you have any other sound tracks or movies you want to write for . . .You were working on one , right now . .Is that what you were saying . . .? Akouo: Well . .pretty much all my music . . .is going to be . .what we call conceptual. . . .so whether it was the first one I released . ."Help Is On the Way" . . . .or the second EP . ."Signs and Times" . . .or this last one. . "Greatest Journey" . . .all. . .those are concept projects . . .so the next one is also a concept project . . .um. . interestingly it's called Church Man . . .(laughs . .) . . .it's called Church Man . . . .and . . um . . .and it has fourteen songs . . .and I'm sure some of that will be shopable . . . .once it's released . . . .but right now . . .I'm going to shop about twenty of my songs . . .with this company out of England . . .once I finish reading the contract . . .language . .to make sure we're ok . . .um . . so then . .we'll see where it goes from then . . .If they have contacts I don't have . . . Azur Mag: OK . . .well . .Any last words for your viewing audience? Akouo: Um . . . .no . . . .but that's pretty much . .where I am . . . . . . We finished our conversation, there. If you're interested in learning more about Akouo . .. you can contact his web site at www.akouomusic.com Also . . you can visit his reverbnation page at www.reverbnation.com/akouo

#Akouo