Summary

Alté is known for fusing genres such as R&B, hip-hop, Afrobeat, electronic, and indie influences. It values experimentation and pushes the boundaries of traditional Nigerian music by incorporating elements of alternative pop, lo-fi aesthetics, and distinctive sonic textures.

History

The Alté (pronounced "uhl-teh" ) music genre traces its roots back to Nigeria and emerged during the 2000s. This music genre garnered momentum in the music sphere and significant attention in the 2010s, providing an alternative sound that diverged from the dominant Afrobeats style within the Nigerian music scene.

Elements
 

Due to its experimental nature, Alté music borrows rhythms from several genres across traditional genres and Western genres. Alte allows artists to be unconventional allowing for moments of minimalism and atmospheric ambience to create an atmosphere of intimacy and contemplation. It allows for little instrumentation in the intro and build up slowly, or just loop till the end.

Alté music enables artists to express themselves through their attire, creatives favor a more vibrant and daring look. The unique environment it creates for Nigerian artists to experiment with sounds, styles, and creative expression encourages artistic freedom, individuality, and sonic exploration.

Alté enables vocals that are more relaxed, emotive, and adaptable. obtaining melodic ideas from various musical genres, such as Soul, R&B, Afrobeats, etc. Artists can display their skill with lead and backing vocals as well as other experimental effects like auto-tune, distortion, and large hall reverbs on Alté.

Since Alté music draws from the individual creator's originality, it lacks a specific form and style. While some Alte songs focus on atmospheric and introspective melodic elements, others have catchy and contagious melodies.

Alté music often addresses social issues, personal conflicts, perspectives and fantasies. Alte music is expressive and gives freedom to the creatives to create from their point of view and be original.

To create their distinctive sonic palette, alternative artists frequently combine a variety of traditional and electronic instruments and sounds. Due to the combination of modern R&B, Afrobeat, electronic music, and alternative pop, the timbre is rich and layered.

Key Instruments