The song was recorded at least a year or two before the release in 2009. In some ways, “No Stars” is
actually the sequel to “Not The Girl,” especially the way that the music videos were shot and how
they were edited, and the story told. It was an idea that Cobhams (credited producer) had been
playing with, and typically when he has ideas, or I have ideas, we meet, and that’s when we figure
out what story is being told. It was at a session that I don’t think was originally mine. It was
raining that day, I remember there was an upright piano and I remember the melodies very clearly. We
wanted to create something very profound. At the time, all we had was the songwriting, the melodies,
the expression that we were able to bring to life somehow, from our thoughts and emotions. Some of
them came from personal places: where we were in our relationships at the time, and what we could
borrow in terms of experiences to put into songs that by the time people end up listening to it and
their own realities hit, it starts to mean something for anyone who’s listening to it. Those are
some of the memories that come to my mind. Who says, “No stars in the sky, makes me wonder why I’m
still gazing?” So it’s even more profound when you add that layer to it. But that aside, it’s the
music that we, especially Cobhams and myself, grew up listening to. Any name you mention would
easily fit into the kind of music that we were listening to or were inspired by. So whether it’s
Fela, whether it’s Marvin Gaye, whether it’s Louis Armstrong. At this time, we were already very
musical. We were brave enough. We were one of the early ones to take the risk. Who bothers to write
a decent song, or bothers about the words that they’re writing? Who’s worried about the melodies?
Who’s thinking or overthinking and wondering, how can we lift up that songwriting experience, and
make it Nigerian as well? Nobody’s ever tried or attempted anything like this before. Funny enough,
with “No Stars,” I’ve also sang at places when someone’s passed away, because I find that the lyrics
are so profound that they also reflect the sadness of missing someone. Missing someone can also not
necessarily mean love, or love gone sour. It can also be the death, or unfortunate passing of a
friend, a loved one and all that. So you just find you barely have to change any of the lyrics. It
plays in several scenarios. Myself and Cobhams found each other a long time ago in secondary school,
even though we were not in the same secondary school, but because of secondary school activities,
musical activities, that’s how we used to jam. That’s how we developed a friendship and a
brotherhood, and we then started collaborating in terms of making music, meeting up to write, to
record, and that’s how our relationship blossomed.
