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Music
Show brings audience to their feet
THE Suva Soul Revival Show had the crowd on their feet as they danced into the night last Friday at Kanalevu Kitchen, Laucala Bay Rd in Suva. Lead singer of ‘The Gang’, Saki Kaloumaira, said the show was about bringing back soul and old-school music. “We have been having these shows for the past two...
Rapper Cardi B wins California trial over explicit album cover art
(Reuters) -A California federal jury on Friday rejected claims that musician Cardi B misused a man’s image on the cover of her first 2016 mixtape album. The cover of “Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1” did not violate plaintiff Kevin Michael Brophy’s publicity or privacy rights by depicting an altered photo of another man with Brophy’s...
Simon Cowell’s new TikTok project gives users unreleased music
(Reuters) – Renowned talent scout Simon Cowell is back, but this time he is focused on the social media platform, TikTok. With the international “Got Talent” TV series, “American Idol” and many more projects already under his belt, Cowell is ready to help aspiring musicians on TikTok share their unique sounds with the world. Cowell...
K-pop star BTS member Jin to release first solo single next week ahead of military duty
SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop singer Jin, a member of the hit boy band BTS, will release his first official solo single next week, the seven-member band’s agency said on Wednesday, following this week’s announcement that he will soon start military duty. The song, titled ‘The Astronaut’, will be released on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m....
Little Simz wins Mercury Prize for album “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert”
LONDON (Reuters) – Rapper Little Simz won the Mercury Prize for her fourth studio album “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” on Tuesday, triumphing over contenders including Harry Styles and indie rock duo Wet Leg for the British music award. The 28-year-old, previously nominated in 2019 for album “Grey Area”, was among favourites to scoop the...
Rapper Coolio, known for ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, dies in Los Angeles at 59
(Reuters) – The rapper Coolio has died, NBC Los Angeles reported Wednesday, citing his manager, Jarez Posey. The artist, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., may have died of a heart attack, although an official cause of death has not yet been released, the television station reported, citing Posey. Coolio was best known...
Backtracks: Prasad’s passion for religious songs
Patrick Prasad’s love for music started at a very young age. Prasad, reputed to be one of Fiji’s most prominent bhajan singers, says his thirst for spiritual knowledge and traditional music has led him a long way. “I first started singing kirtan when I was in Year 6 in my village mandali, and at that...
Backtracks: Song of ancestral gods, gold deposits
The song Lolo Mai Naua composed by Eminoni Qarailawaki, manager of village music group Seniboro Junior, relives the life of their ancestral god, Ratu Vunibula – the eight-headed snake – and the villagers of Sawanikula in the district of Muaira, Naitasiri. Passed down through the generations, Qarailawaki composed a song about the legend in 2011 while singing for another group, Drodrolagi kei Delainava. For...
BACKTRACKS: A family affair
If you follow The Fiji Times Facebook page, and were scrolling through your newsfeed on New Year’s Day, you would have come across a video of a family band playing at Namadi, in Suva. They were the Kaloucava Family Band, made up of Taione Kaloucava, his daughters Leba and Jan, his brother Alden Kaloucava, niece Maria, and his friend Atu Luvena. They formed their little band during...
BackTracks: The dynamic couple
Live music, there’s just something about it. The way the volume and timbre of the raw sounds of the instruments stir feelings within and bring out that urge to jive and swing out across the dance floor. The people who make their living using their God given talents to share the gift of song with those who would listen, whether it be...
Royalties for Fijian musos
The Fiji Performing Rights Association (FIPRA) received royalties of $200,000 this year for the use of local music which will be distributed among members this month. Making the announcement, FIPRA president Eremasi Tamanisau explained they recently received a payout of more than $30,000 goodwill from two foreign organisations for the use of members’ music compositions....
Backtracks: The birth of Waikoula kei Tavua
In 1974, a number of young men from Tavualevu Village joined the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) and got into singing church hymns. They fell in love with how the different voices, when put together, formed a rich chorus of harmony and how the ensemble was able to create emotions and set the atmosphere for prayer with just the power of their voices. Choir practices and taking part in...
Enter the Dragon
Fiji’s music history could have taken a different course had Ken Janson opted to take up medicine seriously. He was well on his way to becoming a doctor and was studying medicine abroad when a visit to his homeland changed everything. Janson shed his stethoscope for a microphone and established himself as an entertainer at...
$4k guitar up for grabs at awards night
One of five finalists of the Tom Mawi Taylor Guitar competition 2021 will walk away with a brand new Taylor guitar 314CE worth more than $4000 at the awards night on December 1. Organiser Nash Fong said this was the fourth year of the guitar competition. “Usually, the award is given out in the Fiji...
Backtracks: Fiji’s first jukebox
Today, the corner of Rodwell Rd and Usher St, Suva, is home to the multi- storey shopping and office complex known as TappooCity. Wind the clock back 80 years, the site was host to a wooden building and to the Chungking Café – home of Fiji’s first jukebox – whose playlist included a song recorded by Litia Daveta. Daveta would later change...
