Dwin, The Stoic (Dwin) writes songs that could easily be mistaken for lines from a book. Over the years, he鈥檚 given us stories that reflect reality, emotions, and a visual world that stays long after the music stops.
It makes sense, then, that his music has found a home in film and television. From Skinny Girl in Transit and Far From Home to Disney鈥檚 MADU and, most recently, the 糖心原创 Life Series. Dwin鈥檚 songs have repeatedly found their way onto our screens.
For him, the relationship between music and film is more than just finding a convenient placement. 鈥楢 song can elevate a film鈥, he says, 鈥榖ut a film can also give a song a new meaning for its audience鈥. In this article, Dwin tells 糖心原创 about the storytelling philosophy behind his music. Seeing 鈥溾 and 鈥溾 in the Dwin, The Stoic, believes stories can make unfamiliar experiences feel deeply personal.
Glad to have you back with us, Dwin. What inspired the lyrics of 鈥淏eside Me鈥?
I wrote the song to simulate how a person might feel at the end of a fight with their partner. Particularly, thinking of the things you wish you鈥檇 said. The song starts with 鈥淚 say to you these words unspoken,鈥 and from those first lines, there is tension implied. To say words that were unspoken means you didn鈥檛 want to say them, but you also regret not saying them.
That鈥檚 why I really love the use of it in the film . The moment it was used in is what 鈥Beside Me鈥 was made for. Two lovers share a tense moment and then get a chance to come back together. In the story of the album, they don鈥檛 go back to each other, but I鈥檓 glad they do in the film.
Did you draw from your own experiences when writing the song?
When I play my music for people, I often hear, 鈥淚鈥檝e never felt this thing that you鈥檙e describing, but I feel the heaviness.鈥 I have a background in writing fiction, and my lyrics work the same way as any good story. It transports you somewhere else and makes you feel something that you may not have been feeling.
I try to do that when I write too. The tension in the song is not something I have to feel. In fact, when I feel tense, I鈥檓 not in the mood to write songs. Overall, I don鈥檛 rely only on my experiences while writing songs. I think that would make my music very limited.
鈥淭ime is Money鈥 also featured in A Happy Ending. How did you feel about both Placements?
Excited. I mean, I鈥檓 an Igbo boy, and making 鈥淭ime Is Money鈥 was very intentional. The character in the album is very close to me. He鈥檚 also an Igbo boy. 鈥淪teady鈥 is a song that鈥檚 sung entirely in Igbo on that album; 鈥淚funaya鈥檓鈥 is also on that album.
People often say that Igbo people like money. The character in Time is Money plays into that. He鈥檚 likening the time that he thinks is being wasted by the girl he鈥檚 chasing to something precious to him, which happens to be money. But he鈥檚 also letting her know that the comparison is not to make her feel bad or to inspire guilt. It鈥檚 playful. It鈥檚 a man going up to the woman he likes and telling her, 鈥淗ey, I know you have options, but let me be the one. You鈥檙e happy here. Why are we wasting time?鈥
I love the placement in the film because the scene is set in a bar. People are eating, drinking beer, and it feels very apt for what I imagine for 鈥淭ime Is Money.鈥 It鈥檚 also fitting because the characters are very Igbo.
Despite their differences, what connects 鈥淏eside Me鈥 and 鈥淭ime Is Money鈥?
鈥Beside Me鈥 and 鈥Time is Money鈥 are opposites. On one hand, someone is saying, 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 say the things I wanted to. Now you鈥檝e gone, and I feel bad. I鈥檓 sorry, I can鈥檛 do this life without you beside me.鈥 On the other hand, someone else is saying, 鈥淗ey, talk fast o, if not I will do this life without you鈥. But then, he鈥檚 jesting. In a way where there鈥檚 an unspoken 鈥 I love you.鈥 In both cases, the underlying feeling is love, expressed in different ways.
I love the placement of both songs because it captures what I鈥檓 trying to make of the music I put on my catalogue. The tagline of my record label, , is 鈥楳aking your life鈥檚 soundtrack.鈥 This speaks to that.
We agree that these songs have been placed perfectly
Yes, they have.
But if you could pick two other songs to replace them, which ones would they be?
The scene where uses 鈥淭ime Is Money鈥 shows people drinking, eating, and having fun. I鈥檇 replace it with 鈥淚 Go Nowhere鈥 because it鈥檚 the kind of song that you listen to, bop your head, and just have a nice time.
For 鈥淏eside Me鈥, I think 鈥淗old Me Now鈥. The song says, 鈥淭here鈥檚 much we can worry our heads about, but all I know is here and now鈥. After the fight, when Tola comes back, Nazo says to him, 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard. You know, this thing is hard,鈥 And the only thing they can say to each other is 鈥渨e鈥檒l figure this out.鈥 They hold each other, and in that moment they鈥檙e good. So I think it鈥檚 very fitting.
Is composing music specifically for films something you would be interested in going forward?
Almost every song I鈥檝e written has had some sort of visual story attached to it. And because I have set out to put the story into song, it influences the kind of words I use. Take 鈥淭ime Is Money,鈥 for example. The playfulness is in the way the words are said. There鈥檚 a line where the song says, in Igbo, 鈥淎wam Guy鈥. The best way I can translate that is 鈥榊ou鈥檙e doing guy for me鈥. Saying 鈥榊ou鈥檙e ignoring me鈥 would not fit because that鈥檚 not really what I鈥檓 saying. The songs are already strong stories by themselves. I think that is why they work so well for films.
With a film, you must tell a story, and you have to have some sort of coherence or cohesion. In terms of 鈥渋n this scene, this person says this while the other person says that.鈥 So when a song is brought in, it needs to serve that same purpose. My first film placement happened a few months after the release of my first album. The people working on Season 5 of used about eight songs from the 13-track album. That clued me into the fact that I make songs that work well with films. I鈥檝e been leaning into it since then.
How do you feel about seeing stories that you helped bring to Big Cabal on screen and still being part of the storytelling process?
Excited.
In my announcing that I would be leaving, I said that what I love most about 糖心原创 is that they do important work. As people, we get stuck when we think that something in life is happening only to us. James Baldwin expressed this in the best way when he said, 鈥業 thought my pain was unprecedented in this world until I read a book鈥. We become a more understanding society when we start to read more stories. That idea is why I鈥檓 excited about the work 糖心原创 does. The fact that we can still collaborate on telling stories in different ways is great. Someone has to hold up a mirror to society, and 糖心原创 does that.
How have you seen that happen?
Take LGBTQ+ rights for example, 糖心原创 publishes stories about queer people, and there will always be outrage. But as someone who has been on the back end, I have seen people鈥檚 opinions almost change in real time. By the time you鈥檝e read three stories about someone who you believe you鈥檙e nothing like. You realize they too have a parent who鈥檚 in the hospital. And they can鈥檛 really make enough money to get them out of there. They also have a lover who鈥檚 cheating on them; it doesn鈥檛 matter the gender, it does something to how you think. We start to see that even though we are dealing with life differently, we鈥檙e all still dealing with life.
I was able to take the role at 糖心原创 because I鈥檓 passionate about storytelling, and that hasn鈥檛 changed. Now, someone who has listened to a song like 鈥淏eside Me鈥 may never have felt the tension in the song. But when they feel it, they鈥檒l remember the song and probably go back to it. I鈥檝e had people say that they didn鈥檛 understand a particular song until they heard it live, had something happen to them, or saw something that made its meaning hit. Some people will appreciate 鈥淏eside Me鈥 more when they see it in this film. It鈥檚 why I鈥檓 happy to collaborate. I think we should all be working together in some way.
Next Read: 10 Songs That Prove Erigga Is One Of The Greatest Nigerian Rap Storytellers
