Winning The AMVCA Made Me Raise My Own Bar Higher - Fisayo Adefolaju

Imagine a world without sound. No laughter, no tears, no explosion. Just silence. Thank goodness, Fisayo Adefolaju showed up with the noise and the emotions. He weaves sounds and music into cinematic masterpieces that capture the heart and the soul.

Meet Fisayo Adefolaju, the sonic sorcerer behind Nollywood’s most iconic soundscapes, a sound designer and more like no other. Come explore the world of a genius in this exclusive interview with Party Jollof Africa for Behind The Scenes.

Party Jollof Africa: Let’s start from the beginning. What first pulled you into the world of sound design?

Fisayo: I started making beats from my teenage years on a Digital Audio Workstation I discovered on my brother’s laptop, and I became obsessed with learning everything about it. At the same time, I had always been intrigued by how the sound in films made me feel. I remember sound themes and motifs from films like The Matrix and The Lion King stuck with me for years and years! After graduating and spending some time in music school, I got invited to a sound design masterclass by my cousin and discovered I had a lot to contribute to the industry.

Party Jollof Africa: With that kind of deep connection to film sound, I imagine picking a favourite project must be tough. Which one lingers with you the most?

Fisayo: Every project is so memorable to me because I must really immerse myself in designing sound intentionally. Giving in to recency bias, I’ll mention The Herd, because of the process we went through to achieve the result. Breath of Life was also a very memorable project, both very different worlds but both required me to reach deep and build soundscapes that genuinely carried the stories along. I had fun scoring Say Who Die, because of how unique and quirky it was, largely thanks to Lani Aisida’s writing. I genuinely believe no other Nollywood film sounds like it, even in my portfolio. I could go on and on.

Party Jollof Africa: And then there’s the AMVCA win. Coming from all that immersion and hard work, how did it feel to hear your name called for Blood Vessel?

Fisayo: Winning felt surreal. You put in countless hours alone in a room with speakers that judge you, and then suddenly your name is being screamed out to applause in a room filled with thousands of people. I didn’t expect to hear my name called on the day! But somehow, I went there to collect it.

The real impact was “credibility.” There’s a lot that goes into sound design that people don’t notice, but everyone notices a big gold trophy. It made people pay attention to the craft a little bit more. It opened doors, and it made me want to raise my own bar even higher. And it made my phone blow up with calls.

Party Jollof Africa: That kind of recognition definitely shifts things. When you create now, what sources of inspiration keep your work fresh for you?

Fisayo: Everything — Lagos traffic, silence, the sound of people arguing, the hum and grind of a generator, interesting doppler effects, the rhythm of someone walking with purpose. Life is art. I like to base every sound choice I make in narrative and intention, because I believe every sound is like a painting of itself. Each one says a thousand words, and those words need to be chosen right.

Party Jollof Africa: You talk a lot about intention. Walk me through how you bring that intention into a Nollywood scene.

Fisayo: I think like a storyteller first. I study the scene, ask what the character is feeling, what the space is saying, and what I believe the audience should sense without realizing. Then I build layer by layer: atmosphere, detail, emotion, and then texture. By the time I’m done, I want the scene to sound alive and intentional.

Party Jollof Africa: With that level of detail, the job must come with serious pressure. What tends to be the biggest challenge?

Fisayo: Many people assume sound is “just sound.” They don’t realize how much planning and precision goes into it. It often shows up most in time and expectations. Many times, as a sound designer, you’re working on extreme deadlines, and yet the sound must feel effortless.

Party Jollof Africa: You’ve built worlds for so many films. Can you also create those worlds without visuals guiding you?

Fisayo: Absolutely. A good sound designer can build a world from nothing. Visuals guide you, but sound has its own imagination. Many great ideas start before I ever see a frame. I have also done a lot of work for radio, which requires a lot of audio-only designs. We also do this a lot when creating music.

Party Jollof Africa: And your music background clearly supports that. How do composition and sound design meet for you?

Fisayo: Both crafts speak the same emotional language. Harmony, tension, release, rhythm in music all translate into sound design. It helps with understanding when a moment needs silence or rest, when it needs pressure, when it needs to breathe, when it needs to explode.

Party Jollof Africa: If all this didn’t work out and you weren’t shaping sound, what path do you think you would’ve followed instead?

Fisayo: Probably something else creative. Maybe performing, writing, maybe photography, maybe composing full-time. Maybe what I studied in school (architecture). Anything that lets me build worlds from scratch.

Party Jollof Africa: You’ve watched the industry evolve from the inside. Do you feel Nollywood is giving sound design the attention it deserves?

Fisayo: We’re improving. There’s more awareness and more appreciation now, and we’re still growing, still learning the value of involving sound early, still catching up on budgets and timelines. The talent is there and the industry just needs to embrace it fully. These days we are pushing the envelope and I’m excited about the next phase for Nollywood sound design.

Party Jollof Africa: With that pace of work, you definitely need downtime. What does unwinding look like for you?

Fisayo: I try to rest, which is funny because my brain doesn’t. Sometimes I cook, sometimes I watch films (and try not to analyze anything), sometimes I just sit in silence and pretend I’m not thinking about stems and ambience layers. Work is also causing me to go out a lot more these days and I discovered kissing the sun and touching grass do wonders for the soul. I also like to ‘relax’ with Spanish lessons because I like the language.

Party Jollof Africa: For people hoping to follow in your footsteps, what’s the one thing you want them to hear from you?

Fisayo: Start small, start messy, start now. Read everything. Learn by doing. Don’t chase gear. Listen deeply. Study films. Build your ears first.

Party Jollof Africa: And for fun — do you have a favourite piece you’ve composed for a film

Fisayo: It changes, but right now it’s probably something from Grind Season II or A Ghetto Love Story. These were projects that let me blend storytelling, culture, and experimentation in a way that I found very cool.

Party Jollof Africa: After everything you’ve shared, it’s clear your work goes far beyond “fixing sound.” What part of your craft do you think people still misunderstand the most?

Fisayo: People think sound is something you “fix,” but it’s something you design. It’s storytelling, and it shapes how the audience feels more than they realize. When sound is great, majority do not notice and when it’s bad, majority will complain. But that subtlety is also the beauty. It’s a powerful tool that can elevate a story and make it memorable and fully impactful.

PartyJollof Africa: Thank you for the amazing time and sharing your gift with us.

Fisayo: You're welcome and it's an honor to be here.

As we wrapped up, it was clear that Fisayo isn’t just shaping sound — he’s shaping how Nollywood feels. His work lives in the quiet moments, the chaos, the emotion between frames, and the worlds we don’t even realize we’re hearing.

If this conversation revealed anything, it’s that sound design isn’t just his craft; it’s the language he uses to tell stories. And with the path he’s on, the next wave of Nollywood’s most unforgettable moments might just begin from his studio.