Sometimes a musical partnership starts long before the first song is written. For Steve and Dolapo, it started with two people discovering, almost by chance, how much they had in common. They met online in 2021 through a singer-songwriter community, but what began as conversations about music quickly turned into a genuine friendship and, eventually, a creative partnership that has now produced two albums.
Dolapo first came across Steve’s music through The Barn, where artists shared their original work and gave feedback to one another. After hearing songs like “Singularity” and “Myself Without A Trace,” he found himself wanting to hear more. But it was the conversations that followed that really changed things. Despite coming from different backgrounds and living thousands of kilometres apart, they found surprising similarities in the way they approached music, songwriting and life.
Their first attempt at working together was meant to see what might happen if their voices and ideas were brought into the same song. The result was enough to convince them that they had found something worth building. Their debut album, Companion, followed in 2024, and now they are preparing to release Solid Ground on October 23, 2026.
The new album reflects where they are now—not just as musicians, but as friends. Its title comes from the idea of finding hope and stability after difficult seasons, and that message runs through much of what they do. For Steve and Dolapo, music is ultimately about connection, positivity, empathy and reminding people that there can still be light ahead.
Their sound is just as open. Soul, indie pop, R&B, rock, hip-hop, choral music and world music can all find a place in their work. Their combined decades of choral experience also give their vocal arrangements a strong foundation, while Dolapo’s melodies and lyrics meet Steve’s production skills and remarkable ability to play more than 40 instruments.
Yet despite all those influences and technical possibilities, they are not trying to sound like anyone else. They take inspiration from artists they admire, but use those influences as starting points rather than templates.
At the centre of it all is friendship. That is perhaps what makes Steve and Dolapo Productions so interesting: the music is not simply a collaboration between two artists, but an extension of a relationship built on trust, encouragement and a shared love of creating.
Ahead of Solid Ground, Steve and Dolapo speak with Boostrin about how they found each other, the friendship behind their music, their creative process, the making of the new album, and why they believe music can still bring people closer together.
First of all, tell us about yourselves and how you both got into music. You met in late 2021 and quickly became best friends, but when did you first realise that your friendship could also grow into a serious musical partnership?
First of all, we have to say a big thank you very much to you, Daniel for having us on your prestigious platform. It’s a honour to be here. I am Dolapo from Steve and Dolapo Productions and personally, I can say that I have been in the corridors of music for as long as I can cognitively remember, and the journey started from early childhood, when I joined my church choir as a treble singer, as early as 8 years of age. Before then, I remember almost always singing in my head and around the house until my parents thought I could channel that energy better as a chorister. Ever since then, I’ve been in and out of various choral groups wherever I find myself. Much later, when I supposedly came of age, I discovered that I could practically write my own songs on the go, as long as my mind is set on doing it.
I think what makes that possible is my natural affinity for writing, so whenever the need arises, I write a song from a poetic standpoint and tune it with my voice. I’d say that’s how I’m basically wired. Steve and I met in 2021 through a Singer Songwriter forum called “The Barn”, It’s a place where Artists from all walks of life showcase their original works and cross review each other’s materials. I had the opportunity to listen to a couple of Steve’s music; “Singularity” and “Myself Without A Trace” precisely and I was completely drawn in to what I heard, hook lines and sinkers and that made me to search for his music catalog for more and I was intrigued by the virtuosity of his artistry.
Ordinarily, it’s often almost an impossibility, to contact Artists for a tete a tete about how you feel about their artistry, but the case was different here, Steve and I were on the same Singer Songwriter platform with direct access to each other’s inboxes, so we got talking after reviewing each other’s music. It was an outstandingly relatable moment for the both of us, as we spoke at length about music and life in our respective domains.
Personally, asides Steve’s natural disposition, what stood out for me were the artistic similarities we possessed, ranging from our approach to practical singing and songwriting, our respective value systems, perceptions and even philosophy. I didn’t know that could remotely happen between people with totally different backgrounds and experiences, residing several thousands of kilometers apart and without any prior contact. I would say, I was able to clearly read Steve through his heartfelt music. It was an eye opener for me and it made the ideology of music being a universal language, clearer.
This encounter formed the foundation for the mutual friendship, understanding and musical partnership that we now have. Every other thing stems from there. We kickstarted our journey into sound when I offered to write a song as a test run for what could be possible if we sang together. Steve met the partnership proposal with a mesmerizing production and arrangement that exceeded my expectation and the rest was history.
Your first album, “Companion,” came out in 2024, and you have now expanded and refined that sound on “Solid Ground.” What have you learned about yourselves as artists and as collaborators since making your debut album?
Thank you for asking, Daniel. Between our debut album, “Companion” in 2024 and now our sophomore album, “Solid Ground” [slated for release on the 23rd of October, 2026] I have learnt that the boundaries of music are limitless and we cannot particularly beat it to fit into a box. It remains key to stay true to who we are as artists while evolving with “sound” as it constantly progresses. Personally, I have learnt to always keep an open mind and take whatever lessons that I need to take from every artistic experience I have; individually as a person or collectively as an entity.
The title “Solid Ground” feels especially meaningful considering the way you describe your relationship as best friends, creative partners, constant encouragement and even therapy for each other. What does “Solid Ground” represent to both of you, and why did it feel like the right title for this album?
“Solid Ground” as a stand alone song is about hope amidst the twists and turns of the realities of modern day living. It carries a message of resilience and the reassurance of standing firm on solid ground at the end of a metaphorical storm. The inspiration was drawn from many situations around the world as we know it and the yearnings people have had for silver linings in their respective cloudy skies. From an album standpoint, “Solid Ground” resonates with the message of positivism that we represent as a brand. It felt right and appropriate as our sophomore album title.
Your music brings together indie pop, soul, R&B, hip-hop, rock, choral and world music influences. How do you approach combining so many different musical elements while still making sure the songs feel connected and recognisably yours?
Despite our somewhat eclectic outlook on music as a whole, we have been able to carve out our own sound, over 2 albums [comprising of 24 tracks in total] by uniquely writing and carefully orchestrating the melodic and harmonic structures and bespoke arrangements of each of our songs, telling our own stories and establishing our points of view from the ground up; per each project we execute. Knowing fully well, that there are many ways to arrive at a given sound, our chosen approach makes it that we are able to stay original to our sound, so much that no two songs of ours sound alike, let alone any other Artist or band. Don’t take my word for it, listen to our album and be the judge.
You both have extensive choir experience, with more than 60 years of combined experience between you. How has that background influenced the way you approach harmonies, vocals, arrangements and the emotional side of your music?
I must say that the combined 60 years of choral experience between Steve and I are an asset that we cherish with everything we have. From the beginning of our musical journey, our combined choral music exposures and experiences have immensely helped our creative process in so many ways. Firstly, I’d say that it has made our vocal integration as seamless as possible from the word go.
Interestingly, we possess similar vocal ranges and distinctively sing in 3 different registers. Steve particularly has a special knack for harmonic arrangements, which I personally find intriguing. He often says that he could already and clearly hear the harmonic contents of my melodic compositions but I still get enthralled by the vastness of his music abilities. As a trained Tenor singer, I ordinarily wouldn’t touch anything Alto but Steve does Alto harmonies like the back of his hand. He also arranged the choral Bass, Tenor and Soprano parts of the entire “Solid Ground” album with ease, while I composed the melodies and lyrics to the tracks therein.
Steve, you play more than 40 instruments, from drums, bass and guitars to saxophones, marimba, vibraphone, balafon, steel drum, keyboards, cello and world percussion. How does having access to so many instruments affect the creative process, and how do you decide which sounds belong in a particular song?
Each instrument arranged and recorded seems to call to the next. If I’m building the song ground up, I will start with the drums, move to bass, and then make a decision to layer a keyboard instrument, a guitar, a steel drum or an arrangement of saxophones. If the song starts from a single a cappella vocal melody from Dolapo, as they often do, the melody and the words that Dolapo sings are so vibrant, beautiful and filled with implied harmonic structure that I can literally hear the entire arrangement from the moment I press play.
If it’s a soul song I might start on organ and build from there. If it’s a rock song, I’ll likely start with guitar. Jazz would be piano. The most fun and rewarding is when the song has an afro-beat flavor. I am classically trained percussionist in addition to everything else and I love to make drum ensembles, so the djembes, and the dùndún (talking drum), Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀(shekere), bata, rare and beautifully carved Nigerian gongs and shakers, Udu, balafon, and more will take me up into a euphoric fury of recording one after another until I feel the painting is finished.
You have named a wide range of influences, from Fela Kuti, Orlando Julius and Angelique Kidjo to Motown, The Beatles, Earth, Wind & Fire, David Bowie, Run-DMC, Queen and many others. When you are creating together, how do those different influences naturally find their way into the music without simply trying to recreate the sound of the artists you admire?
I think from a vocal music standpoint, no two voice prints can exactly sound alike, no matter how close they get. What I have personally learnt from the enlisted musical influences are largely the attitude and the confidence with which they expressed their respective artistry. Orchestrating a song from the ground up is uniquely peculiar to the musicians creating the subject sound. This is exactly what applies in our case. Yes! We have had varying lengths of exposures to the afore listed acts but it’s not in the bid to reproduce their works and style verbatim. We basically latch on the varying artistic cultures and energies and infuse our own unique outlook in the most original way possible.
You also describe your production approach as drawing from producers and musicians such as Quincy Jones, Maurice White, Rick Rubin, D’Mile and others. What are some of the production lessons or ideas you have taken from those influences and applied to “Solid Ground”?
I started producing when I was 14 in 1985 and I’ve produced in a lot of genres. All of those recordings paired with intense deep dive listenings culminate into the sound we have. We sound like Steve and Dolapo. So I feel that I don’t consciously employ ideas from other producers. But rather I say that I have gained knowledge from them through extensive listening and that informs how I approach our work.
Quincy Jones had a beautiful way with percussion, Maurice White with horns, Rick Rubin with guitars and vocal sound, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson (Bee Gees) with harmonies. Listening to D’Mile helped me to make decisions to ensure our final product has the right sheen for 2026-2027. One of the decisions we make as producers in the modern era is making sure our work fits on playlists with songs in a similar vein. I would love to be playlisted with the works of D’Mile.
Beyond the music itself, you say your work is about friendship, positivity, love, empathy and inclusion. How important is it for you to make music that carries those ideas, and have there been moments when listeners have told you that one of your songs genuinely affected them?
Yes, we have had many occasions where we have received positive feedback from our audiences from far and wide about how our music made them feel. We are part of communities where we get direct reactions about our music and these have further deepened our commitment to writing and producing music in the same vein as what we started out with. In the actual fact, the “Solid Ground” album is partly a fall out of the reactions from our debut album “Companion”.
“Solid Ground” arrives on October 23, 2026, as your second full-length vinyl album, and you have said that you are producing new music every day. As you look beyond this album, what would you like Steve and Dolapo Productions to become, and what are you hoping listeners discover about your partnership through the music you create together?
Thank you for asking this very important question. As we await the official release of our sophomore album; “Solid Ground” by the 23rd of October, 2026 we hope that our audiences would be able to tap into the positive nature of our sound and the messages we bear. We believe that music should unite us and not tear us apart.
Music is what has united Steve and Dolapo from different races, cultures, backgrounds and regions of the world. If it can do this for the two of us, we strongly believe it can also do it for more and more people from anywhere around the world. The sheer joys of friendship built on genuine love for music can be therapeutic in some many ways. Thank you once again
CONNECT
