Name: Ife Ogunjobi
Nationality: Nigerian, London-based
Occupation: Trumpet player, composer, improviser
Current release: Ife Ogunjobi's two new EP Tell Them, I'm Here is out via Out Of (The) Blue.
Current event: Ife will perform live in Berlin, Germany, at Gretchen on January 29th 2026. For more information and tickets, go here.

If you enjoyed this Ife Ogunjobi interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, and tiktok.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I’m inspired by so many different things. Inspiration for me can come from anywhere. From music, art, theatre, films, documentaries; they all inspire me in different ways.

Sometimes I will watch a film or documentary and the way the music accompanies the visuals will spark an idea about how to tell a story through music. Or sometimes just watching a film can just motivate me to start creating again and get the ball rolling. Personally I think art inspires art.

I try to draw from as many influences as possible that mean something to me to create music that actually represents who I am.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a ‘visualisation’ of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

For me different songs have come about in different ways. Some songs I have absolutely no idea which direction it will go in - which is exciting because it just allow me to be in the moment and create what comes naturally.

However sometimes I start an idea and I know instantly how I want it to feel and what kind of energy I want the track to have. On my last EP a track called “Zimbabwe” was like this. Once the beat was grooving I knew I wanted a melody that was infectious and I wanted it to sound like an anthem.

So for me it's a balance between being in the moment and allowing the music to direct me. But sometimes I instantly know what I want to say on a song

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do ‘research’ or create ‘early versions’?

For me there is no preparation process, I try to challenge myself to be able to create whether I’m in the mood to or not, that’s the only way I will improve.

Sometimes I get in the studio and I struggle to generate ideas but I try to force myself to leave with something even if I’m not feeling it in the moment. You never know what can happen.

Sometimes I come back to it the next day and realise the idea was better than I thought but the main thing is to constantly be able to create and generate ideas whether I’m prepared to or not.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I just like the energy in the room to be good. I surround myself with people that get the best out of me and that also push me to be better today than I was yesterday.

For that to happen I have to be comfortable with who I’m in the room with. I like the lights in the room to be set to a certain mood depending what kind of song I’m making that day.

Recently I’ve started playing Fela Kuti concerts on mute in the background whilst I’m recording as he’s someone I’m constantly inspired by. So having that in the background always gives me extra motivation and inspiration

For Tell Them I’m Here, what did you start with? If there were conceptual considerations, what were they?

Tell Them I’m Here started with me just making music that truly felt like me at the time. I didn’t think too much about the concept and I didn’t even have the title of the EP at the time. It just started with me making music that represented me and felt like what I wanted to get off my chest at the time.

Through doing that process the concept of the EP slowly started to reveal itself to me. It’s about me being unapologetic and confident in who I am. Nobody can be me better than me so I just wanted to focus on what I truly wanted to say musically and put that into the world.

This is what I hope people realise for themselves too when they listen to the music.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

For me I just let the music take me where I need to go. I try to be honest with my music, no faking and anything that doesn’t need to be there isn’t there.

So all my music is organic and isn’t predetermined. I just let the music and where I’m at as a person guide the music.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

The creative state for me just allows me to communicate in a way I can’t with words.

There are specific moods or emotions that I can communicate best through music so for me the creative state looks like me digging deeper into how to speak through my music. This goes for both studio and live performances too.

Live shows are so special because you are able to interact and speak to the audience in person. They also speak back to you so that energy you feel on stage is different and being able to improvise and interact in the moment is a spiritual feeling for me.

I want my music to be able to help people through bad times and uplift people during good times. That to me is the ultimate purpose of art.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you’re satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

I know when a song is finished. I try not to over-think it or over-analyse it because it's very easy to start adding things that are unnecessary.

Once I feel like the message I wanted to convey is there and the music is supplementing that message in the best way then to me the song is done. It’s a feeling rather than anything specific.

What’s your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?

The addition of production on my latest EP was a big part of the project. I listen to and am inspired by a lot of produced music from Afrobeats, Hip Hop, RnB etc. It’s a big part of who I am and the music I grew up listening, too, so I wanted to incorporate that element into my music on this project.

But being an instrumentalist I wanted to find the balance between production and live instrumentation to make music that really represents me. I think that’s what makes this project so special and unique. The blend between heavy production combined with the energy that live instruments brings puts this project in a really unique space.

For me it’s important to balance all the elements of composition, production and mixing. The each enhance each other. If you have a really well written song then getting it produced correctly can take it to another level and help elevate the composition.

After that ensuring that the mix brings out all of the elements of the song and making sure it sits right elevates it even further. So I just try to make sure each step is taken care of properly.

Music and the accompanying artwork are often closely related. Can you talk about this a little bit for your current project and the relationship that images and sounds have for you in general?

The artwork for my EP Tell Them I’m Here was very intentional.

Once the music was finished I spoke with my good friend and photographer Elliot Hensford about what the artwork should look like to help tell the story of the music. Between Elliot Hensford and TJ Saw, they helped me with the direction of the artwork.

We wanted something bold and striking but which at the same time has a lot of depth to it. The child in the photo holding the trumpet beside me shows the growth from where I was to who I am today. This EP was me stepping into who I am and being unapologetic about it so it was important to show that growth visually.

The child in the photo also represents the way I think. Sometimes in life I think we all need to take a step back and be more childlike. Children are very fearless, they usually do what they want and aren’t scared to be themselves because they aren’t trying to please people or worry about what others think. This allows them to be themselves authentically and as adults I think we can learn a lot from them. We are so worried about public perception that we can diminish who we really are for the sake of approval.

This EP is about eradicating that and being confident in the differences that make us who we are. So there is a lot of depth in the artwork once you look past surface. It tells the story of the EP in many ways.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

For me, I definitely don’t feel a sense of emptiness after I finish and release a project, probably because I’m always working on the next one. I create music whether I release or not so I don’t feel a sense of emptiness after I release a project because I’m always making music anyway.

After I release music I’m excited for 2 reasons. I’m excited for people to finally hear and resonate with the music that I have been working on but I’m also excited to explore new ideas that push me further.

For me, my music is a reflection of where I’m at so I’m constantly trying to evolve and develop.