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Music
Music group makes a name for itself
NAMADI Heights in Suva is renowned as the home to some of the Capital City’s more affluent citizens. But tucked behind the gated homes and luxurious structures is an informal settlement that is home to hundreds who are trying to eke out a living and better their lives. And out of the corrugated iron and...
Shoeshine boys turn to music
IN 1979, concerned about the plight of shoeshine boys in Suva, former social justice advocate and Catholic priest Father Kevin Barr formed a music group called Super Shine 81. Interestingly enough, the group was made up of descendants of early settlers from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu who had made Suva their home. One of...
Musician’s exposure helps village band
Nabaka Village, Vanua Levu is not a name that comes to mind when one thinks about the Fijian music scene. But a quick delve into the village’s past and it becomes obvious there were a few musicians who developed enough skills to allow them to entertain in hotels around Savusavu in the ’70s and ’80s....
The end of an era
Fiji has lost one of her greatest singers and entertainers of all time with the passing yesterday of legendary vocalist Jese Mucunabitu. He was 70 and would have celebrated his 71st birthday next month. In a career that spanned more than 40 years, Mucunabitu’s unique golden voice brought to life classic iTaukei songs and compositions...
Choir group formed during a hurricane
Every choir group has its own unique story to tell. And one that has an interesting tale is the Vunimono Choir from Nausori. The gospel singing group was formed during Hurricane Bebe in 1972. In the midst of Bebe, one of the biggest storms at the time, the people of Vunimono Village were told to...
Paula’s wired for sound
When one hears of the Uprising Music Festival, they think of the drinks, the crowd and the great music that comes with it. The masses are often lost to the hard work that goes in to making the annual event as explosive as it is. The good news is nothing has changed when it comes...
Village finds its lost voice for sigidigi
The world has witnessed indigenous music from almost every corner of the globe. Latin America gave us the samba, bossa nova, cha-cha-cha and rhumba and Africa gave the world Afrobeat and township jive among so many others. The Caribbean spellbound us with calypso music and the steel drums and Jamaica unleashed the powerful one-drop sound...
Stage set for music fest
Get ready for some new music Fiji, says Inoke “Knox” Kalounisiga. The frontman of the Knox Brotherhood band made the comment in the buildup to the Woodstock Uprising Music Festival at the Uprising Beach Resort, Pacific Harbour, on Saturday, December 5. “My band is glad for the opportunity to do what we love and to...
Breakup song becomes a hit – Daugunu wins back girlfriend through song
In the mid ’70s, Esekaia Daugunu composed a song when his then girlfriend Adi Salote Savu broke up with him over a relatively small misunderstanding. He wrote the lyrics on a piece of paper and sent it via mail to her, saying it was his poem to her. When the song Ena yabaki 1974, ko...
Local vocal diva is back
Georgina Ledua says she is both excited and nervous about performing at the Woodstock Uprising Music Festival 2020 on December 5 at Pacific Harbour. The last time she graced the festival stage was three years ago under the banner of the band, Kulture. “It’s different when I will be the one fronting the band this...
Alternative rock band Glass Alley raring to go with ‘different’ tunes
If there is one band that is going to stand out at the Woodstock Uprising Music Festival 2020, it has got to be Glass Alley. The motley crew emerged on the local music scene in 1997 and Glass Alley’s claim to fame is being Fiji’s first alternative rock band. Frontman and lead vocalist Albert Eastgate,...
A song composed onboard a navy ship
Six years ago, British Royal Navy engineer Lokitai Nainoca wrote his first single Momosi Ni Yaloqu. The ode to long-distance love was composed while he was deployed onboard the HMS Kent in the Persian Gulf – between the Arabian Peninsula and South-Western Iran. Launched in the United Kingdom in 2014, the tune found its way...
Self-taught pianist
Lenati Vatuwaliwali Ramokosoi is a self-taught pianist who started playing the piano in Class 4 (Year 4). Ramokosoi did have a unique ability that influenced the way he played — he had a photographic memory. Most musicians use music sheet to help them play as for him once he plays he is able to play...
Guitarist ‘honoured’
Famed jazz guitarist Tomasi Mawi received a 50th Independence Anniversary medal for his contribution to Fiji’s music industry. The 75-year-old was among 26 medal recipients at the State House yesterday. “To receive this medal is a great honour,” Mr Mawi said. “I’ve been part of the music industry as a young boy in the late...
Not ready to quit – Vude Queen at 60
Fiji’s Vude Queen has just turned 60, an age where many would think of retirement and slowing things down. That would work for the masses, but it certainly doesn’t for Laisa Vulakoro. If the past few weeks were anything to go by, Vulakoro appears to have received a second wind. The Yacata, Cakaudrove, lass has...
