Producer Gordon ‘Commissioner’ Williams hopes to take local art industry to new heights   |02 November 2022

Mr Williams during his meeting with President Ramkalawan. Also present at the meeting were Messrs Andre and Bresson (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

Seven-time Grammy Award winning record producer and engineer Gordon ‘Commissioner’ Williams concluded his week-long cultural tour of Seychelles on Saturday, hopeful that he can lend a helping hands towards the development of the local entertainment and arts industry.

Vastly experienced in the United States music industry, Williams is the founder of the Lalabela Alliance, a multi-faceted collective of companies focused on musical education, youth development, film and television, music production, and publishing. Through the Lalabela Music Academy, he is working towards developing a production base on the African continent, and to discover new talents in doing so.

During his visit, ‘Commissioner’ Williams, accompanied by the secretary general of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, David André, and the executive director for international events, intellectual property and investment Galen Bresson, partook in discussions with President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House on October 27.

In particular, they addressed how he can establish his projects locally towards the growth of the local industry and tapping into the potentials and opportunities in Seychelles.

Mr Williams also had the opportunity to experience a number of cultural activities organised for the 37th Festival Kreol, to interact with different institutions, and artists.

“I hope by the end of this trip to have some sort of official relationship between Lalabela and Seychelles, where I can use this relationship to help develop our programme here, together,” Mr Williams stated.

He presently has an ongoing project in Rwanda, and is working with Kenyan artist Sauti Sol.

Having had the opportunity to listen to traditional music while here, he is particularly impressed and interested with the Unesco-recognised Moutya music.

Mr Williams has been in the music industry for over 30 years, where he has worked with artists including Lauryn Hill, Carlos Santana, Quincy Jones, and the likes of Jay-Z.

Laura Pillay