1. IV WEEKEND POST, Friday September 11, 2015
STER Kinekor Cinemas
today till next Thursday
presents ‘Vacation’, ‘Man
From UNCLE’, ‘Minions’,
‘Mission: Impossible
- Rogue Nation’, ‘Ant-
Man’ and ‘Fantastic 4’.
CONSCIOUS Sounds
tomorrow presents
Peter Tosh Memorial
ConcertatMundaWanga
Gardens. Featuring
Spuki Mulemwa, One
Drop, Ras Anada, Mama
Diana, Bantu Roots,
True Africans, Jasper
Mix, Mystic Africans,
Peter Bob, Burning
Youth, with Rashid and
Renard from Malawi,
and more. 15 hours till
late. Charges: K50
GOSPEL artiste Martin
PK (Mr Superman) will
on Sunday afternoon
hold a FREE concert at
Government Complex.
Time 14:OO hours Come
and be blessed.
What’s On!
By Hope ‘Deejay Wolf’
Mkunte @selectalupo
T
he ability to create
a record any-
where with
computer soft-
w a r e h a s
revolutionalised
music. Anyone
with minimal
knowledge of
music codes can
make a song with
ease, but this
h a s a l s o
brought about
mediocrity in
music pro-
duction as
t h o u -
sands
o f
makeshift studios have
mushroomed in the wake
of the easy access to
computers. This
has in part con-
tributed to
the slump in
CD sales
worldwide
and seen a
g r o w i n g
d e m a n d
for live
music as
f a n s
seek to get more from
musicians.
Proactive Zambian music
producers have taken the
initiative of investing in
live instruments for their
studios. One such pro-
ducer is Rueben Chita of
Dream Sounds and leader
of Petersen’s Zagalyfe
band.
The Weekend Post sat
down with this prolific
producer to hear his views
on the rise of live music
and the what projects he
is working on.
The benefits of live
music seem obvious but
one cannot overlook the
fact that you get some
much more. “ With live
music the viewer is in
direct connection
with the performer.
Live music also
gives the viewer
a variety of
moments, as
one can song
can be per-
formed many
times and
always
c o m e
o u t
d i f -
f e r -
e n t .
It also
gives the
viewer a wider choice of
acts to focus on. Some
views enjoy watching the
skills of the guitar or
keyboard player or drum-
mer. From an economic
perspective, live music
involves so many people,
thus creating jobs.” RC
says.
It always seems produc-
ers know what they are
doing when they are mak-
ing music, but RC points
out that making music for
stage peformance poses a
challenge for many.
“The challenge of pro-
ducing music that can be
played live in Zambia lies
with us ‘electronic music
producers’. The sounds
that people hear on CD
and radio is what they
expect to hear when they
come for a live perfor-
mance. As music producers
we need to ensure that
the sounds we create can
be played live. The inter-
net has a lot of Virtual
Sound Instruments (VSTi)
that one can download
which give a producer with
imagination an ‘out of this
world creativity’. However
the unplanned use of
these computer generated
sounds can pose a chal-
lenge during performances
as most of them cannot be
accessed in hardware
form in Zambia yet.A life
long student of music,
Rueben enrolled to study
music at Evelyn Hone
College in 2013. “I decided
to get professional with
my music. I just thought it
would be a good idea to
study music theory since I
have been practising music
for more than 15 years
now. This course has
opened my eyes and made
me appreciate music so
much more. I now under-
stand how to compose
music and know the dif-
ferent structures of
music. I know the value of
music because it is every-
where and very much a
part of our lives. We sim-
ply cannot live without it.”
When RC’s mother
bougth him a computer for
school assignments while
while he was studying
Human Resource at NIPA,
he started producing
music on it. “I started the
studio in 2008 but being a
graduate everyone
expected me to start
looking for a job right
away, which I did but I
spent most of my time
building my studio. Most
of my family members
abandoned me, only my
mother and sisters stood
by me through this trying
time.”
His preference of
recording live music comes
from years of playing in a
band. “I got my first
break to play in a band in
2010 in Mathew Tembo’s
dark black band. He audi-
tioned me at his house and
gave me the job of key-
board player right away.
Prior to this, I have played
keyboard in church from
when I was 13 at the BIC
church in Chilenje.”
RC boasts a long resume
of hits. He produced
Petersen’s I know Myself
Better, Sefula Boy and
recently co-produced
T-Sean’s Judas. “I co-
produced the song Umoyo,
whose video was nomi-
nated for the Born N Bred
Awardsand I just finished
working on Kasolo’s album
Umuchele. This album fea-
tures Maureen Lilanda and
Mumba Yachi. The album’s
sound is a fusion of
African tradition instru-
ments with acoustic
guitars. The songs are
educative with an ‘evening
story-telling’ theme. I am
also working with Jay Fuse
on an Afro pop album.” he
says.
RC breaks down live music
L
USAKA’s Gymkhana
Club was last week-
end transformed
into a lively celebration
full of music, food and
fun that drew hundreds
of people for the Flying
Fish Beach Festival
reports Felix Kashweka.
The daytime-night fes-
t i v a l c r e a t e d
entertainment that show-
cased chart-topping acts
from the region who
included South Africa’s
DJ Zinhle. Local DJs
Hussein and Sebastien
Dutch were on hand to
escalate the pomp along-
side local music acts
Urban Hype and Kiki.
Flying fish treated
dance-music lovers to a
cool tropical seashore
that had beach party
sand, beach chairs,
umbrellas and related
activities.
Scores throng Flying Fish fest