UPBEAT MUSIC Captions by Faith Hamblyn. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016. UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES # La, la-la, la, la, la, la, # la-la, la, la, la-la. # La, la-la, la, la-la. # FAST PIANO MUSIC I moved from Zambia to NZ with my family when I was only a little girl. And for as long as I can remember, I felt like I wanted to be part of the music world. I want to make music that is heard around the world, but music is something my parents didn't want me to do. Hi. My name's Mukuka Musowa, and I'm from Zambia. I'm 21 years old, and I'm a singer-songwriter. (PLAYS SLOW MUSIC) I never told my parents that I could sing,... just because I felt that they would look at it and see me singing for the rest of my life. And I didn't want to give them the opportunity to sit down with me and ask me, 'Is that what you really want to do with your life?' # Ooh. Cos I just felt that it would hurt too much. # Ooh. # Ooh... # So I left home to study music in Hamilton, and now I... I just want this to be my life. I guess I have put everything on the line, which takes confidence, confidence to stand on my own two feet. But I guess the problem is that confidence is definitely something that I really need to work on. BASSY MUSIC Over the couple of months, I've been working in the studio with producer Nate. We've released two songs so far. And we're working on releasing our EP, which is like a small album. # Shadows creeping in my lonely night... 'My style of music is electro pop. It helps me with expressing myself. 'Just the mood of electro-pop music just makes me wanna dance and sway.' # Where do we go from here? # All right. That's sounds good. Sounds good. Come on in. Cool. That was a good job. Good. Take a seat, boom, boom. Yeah. Yeah, come grab a seat. We'll have a chat, eh? I think you're really killing it in the studio. We're doing some good work, eh. But I think it's time to think about the end result now, eh. We wanna push forward and launch the stuff. Uh, this is our careers. > Yeah. What's holding you back? I think it's my lack of confidence. In the past, I've had to keep my music as a secret. So pushing it out there and,... um, being openly excited about it is something that I didn't always do. Doing that now has... been a challenge for me. CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC So, I need to work on promoting my music more. It's not something that I'm really great at. I need to go and meet up with my best friends from high school, Dunni and Deborah, cos they're always there for me when I need advice. Everyone in the music industry's kind of, you know, animated, and they're confident, which is something that I've always struggled with. I'm not the most confident person. You were so shy in high school. And you would always like just stay with... like, just by yourself. Yeah. I remember, like, in high school, you never used to come to, like, African events. And you could have learned something about your culture then. Yeah. It's still, like, a touchy subject, and I don't know how to talk about it, but, um, my family was quite, like, religious, and I couldn't always come to parties and, you know, events, just because it conflicted with my beliefs. So that's why I couldn't always come. So, what about your parents? They haven't seen me perform, but I don't really talk about music when I'm at home. One day I just woke up and I was, like, 'I don't care. I'm gonna do music. This is what I wanna do.' And it makes me happy, so I'm just gonna do it. Do you guys remember, like, in high school, when you guys used to sing that song, that Nigerian song, I think? I loved that song. Oh yeah. > Do you remember? Yeah. Uh, I think it goes, um,... # I wake up. # I see you as you leave. BOTH: # Bibanke boja ban ro. # Fimi sile. # That one? Aw, that brought me back. (LAUGHS) It was that one, eh? You need to be in touch with your roots. Yeah. Find the fierce little mama in you and just let her out and be, like, 'Bam. I'm here. Like, hello, I'm here.' Ta-da! ALL LAUGH TINKLY MUSIC CHILDREN YELL Although I was born in Zambia, I moved to NZ when I was 11. And I can't remember much of my childhood back home. Um, and my friends are right ` to be a confident artist, I need to know where I'm from and I need to know my heritage. And because my family wasn't very, like, active in the Zambian community, to be a confident artist, I need to learn more about my heritage and where I'm from. TINKLY MUSIC In the music industry, you have to know yourself and you have to be confident about yourself, which is something I feel like I quite haven't figured out yet. And it's really important to know your culture and where you're from. And because of that, I'm gonna go to the Zambian Independence celebration day in Auckland. BEEP! UPBEAT MUSIC I can't believe I've been missing out on so much. There's so much culture here, and the music and the singing is just so lovely. I think I can draw from this. UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES (CHUCKLES) So, I have to say that was really electric. And it suddenly seems really really clear to me now. I have to write a Zambian song. BEEP! UPBEAT MUSIC What are you working on? Just a new song. Wanna hear it? Yeah, awesome. Let's do it. Yeah? (PLAYS CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC) # Standing by the fire, and we feel that our hearts are so cold. # We tripped, and we fell,... # and we crawled back to love. # What do you think? Yeah, it's good. Yeah? A lot of potential there, definitely. I think there's a lot we can do with that. Definitely. > Mm. I don't know. I feel like it's not quite Zambian yet. OK. I personally feel that, like, loss at the moment with where I am with my culture. And I think that... me writing this song can help me explore more on what I want to learn about my culture. So, with this cultural dynamic, you want that to be a part of this EP? I definitely want to. Cos I really want to represent my culture in, like, my first ever EP. Cool. So production-wise, I think African drums and rhythm would be a really cool thing to include. So getting that vibe, getting that rhythm going that echoes your culture. I really love Nate's idea. I do remember African drumming back in Africa when I was a child. But that was such a long time ago, so I'm gonna go and see Robert, a Ghanaian African drummer here in NZ. And I'm gonna see what he has to say. RHYTHMIC DRUMMING (DRUMS STEADILY) Hello. Thanks for having me. No, pleasure. Yeah, I've heard a lot about you, and I thought that you'd help me with one of my songs that I'm writing at the moment. What do you want me to help you with? Dance? Drumming? Just the drumming aspects of it. Um, I want to incorporate some drumming elements in my electro-pop song. I came here two years ago,... < Yeah? ...knowing very well that I had to work hard, you know, to keep my culture, you know? And how do you keep it? The only way you keep it is to keep doing this. Yeah. So maybe if you taught me some techniques or, you know, anything. Anything? > It would help, yeah. (DRUMS STEADY RHYTHM) So, it's merely combining the tune,... bass, and then we call it scratch. So you combine. (DRUMS STEADILY) Cool. That kind of reminds me of, like, you know, back in Africa, when everyone's in a circle, and everyone's jumping in and dancing and, like, busting out their moves. It is very very important to know where you come from, you know? < Mm. Without music, traditional music, drum and dance, like, I will use the word, I would be depressed. Yeah. I'm always connected to my own heritage or culture. If you now realise you wanna go back and try to use some African element in your music, it tells people who she is. 'Oh, she's Zambian.' You know? Tell people who you are. (DRUMS UNSTEADY RHYTHM) BOTH DRUM STEADILY BEEP! So, those drums really really took me back to where I come from. And I think I can use some of them. Like, I can use some of the pattern that Robert taught me in my own songs. One thing that's on my mind, though, and that's my parents. I really want them to like my music as well. Um, and it's something that I can't really talk to them about. Maybe I should go and talk to, um, an older African friend ` her name's Auntie Grace ` um, to just get a bit of, like, an older Zambian perspective on things. There you go. Thanks, Mukuka. That's OK. I came to talk to talk to you today about me doing music. It's, um... Like, it's really hard on them, just because it's not really a stable job. Yes. This is huge. Like, I understand where they're coming from. Yeah. This is huge. This all goes back to at the turn of the century, for Africans, everybody knew to say the only way I'll get out of this poverty, you had to have a white-collar job for somebody to say yes, you're successful. Yeah. But, 'What is Mukuka doing?' 'She's singing.' 'What? Is that what they went to NZ for?' African parents want their children to be successful. But we have to realise that our children are growing up here, and this is a different environment. The sun that is rising in NZ, it's rising in a different way than the way it rises in Zambia. Yeah. Yeah, that's a hard one. Whatever you're going to do,... Mm. ...give it your all. And once the success starts coming through, your parents are going to come round. Auntie Grace really reminded me of what my parents went through for us to come here so that we could have a better future. I have learned quite a lot about myself. And I can feel myself getting more and more confident. Um, at the same time, it is something that I want to share with my parents as well. BEEP! CONTEMPLATIVE PIANO MUSIC I have worked for over a year on this EP. I think it's time for my parents to hear it. TINKLY MUSIC OK, so here it is. I am posting all my hard work to my parents. Um, I still haven't played them any of my music yet,... so, um, let's hope that they like this. So posting it. TINKLY MUSIC BIRDS CHIRP So, some really exciting news ` I've been invited to perform my songs live on 95bFM, which is a radio station in Auckland. And it's really exciting, and it's a big deal, because they introduce a lot of upcoming artists in NZ. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm so excited and nervous, but mostly excited. INDIE ROCK MUSIC This morning on Fancy New Band, brought to you by NZ On Air Music, we have Mukuka Musowa is a 21-year-old Kiwi Zambian electro-pop singer. She is based in Hamilton, having moved to NZ from Zambia at the age of 11. She is going to be playing some tracks for us, alongside producer Nate, um, some electro pop for your ears this morning. # A million stars above me # whispering about you,... # saying... # I... # will... # fly. # Whoo-hoo! Awesome. APPLAUSE (CHUCKLES) Thank you so much, Mukuka, for joining us in the studio this morning. You have, um, an EP in the works, I hear. Yeah, we do. Um, we've been working on it for the last year, eh? Yeah, about a year or so, yeah. Yeah. And at the moment, we're working on a Zambian song. How we know the sound of a Zambian song? Is there a really awesome rhythm? Yes, it includes really awesome rhythms, but you're gonna wait until you hear it. < OK. Yeah. < Great. < Awesome. That was so cool. Thank you. Cool. < Perfect. OK. So, wow, that was my first time on the radio. I felt pretty nervous, but I also felt like a pop star. It's a really really great feeling to know that, you know, people were hearing me on the radio. KOOKY POP MUSIC So, I've written the Zambian song. Um, no one's heard it yet, not even Nate, but I really think it's getting there. I put in some of the poetic words that Auntie Grace spoke to me about, and I'm still playing with the African drums. But I feel like there's still something I need to find out, so I'm going back to the Zambian community. They're having a beach barbecue today. And I'm going to sing my song for the first time to everyone, so will they think the song's Zambian enough, and will they hear the echoes of Zambia in my song? I really hope so. Hi! < Oh! Mukuka! How are you? Good. How are you? Oh, very fine, thank you. Lovely to see you after a long time. Yeah, I know. It's been a while. Yeah. So, this is Zambia. We meet once every two months, where all the community of Zambians come together. Why don't you put your guitar down for now and just enjoy the Zambian food and meet all our family here, our whanau, and let's enjoy ourselves the Zambian way. How are you? Hi. Good. Hi. What's your name? I'm Diana. We haven't met. You guys are both singers. You're such a good singer. See? There we go. So today I'm gonna sing a Zambian-inspired song. Yay. (CHUCKLES) Um, it's not in Zambian. Yeah. It's in English. The chorus is, 'We tripped, we fell, and we crawled back to love.' And it just talks about the journey that I went through from moving from Zambia to here. And when I got here it was a different culture, so that was me tripping. And then I fell, where I was trying to learn how to make new friends from different cultures. And then, 'We crawled back to love' is me trying to discover my culture again. We can understand it too now. (CHUCKLES) How did you guys find it when you first moved here? Strangely enough, like, I identify more with, like, being a Kiwi than I do Zambian. And it's only when I see how strong other ethnic communities are that I realise that, 'Whoa, I need to sort of find my roots again.' So to honest, I'm still, like, falling and struggling. Like, we're still trying to have stuff like this. Yeah. And it's so cool right now to be sitting with you guys. That's so fascinating, because I didn't know that, like, other Zambians my age felt like that as well. Yeah. Yeah. > And it's just good to know, then. And we, kind of, can bond off that and then work on... Crawling back to love. Exactly. (LAUGHS) INSECTS BUZZ (STRUMS SONG) INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS INSECTS BUZZ (STRUMS SONG) INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS INSECTS BUZZ (STRUMS SONG) INSECTS BUZZ # This horizon... # picture-perfect. # We fell, and we tripped,... # and we crawled back to life. # We fell, and tripped,... # and we crawled back to life. < # We fell, and we tripped,... # and we crawled back to life. # It was wonderful. It was lovely. Just remember we are all behind you. You are doing such a good job. You are presenting Zambia in NZ, so that's really lovely. Yes. We are very proud of you. Aw, thank you. Yeah. So, I just performed my Zambian songs. And I felt like everyone was really proud of me. And that's really important to me. Um, my parents couldn't make it today, but I really really hope that they can hear the song. It would mean a lot to me, cos I guess I still need that. PHONE LINE RINGS Hi, Mum. Hi. How are you? Have you heard my songs yet? Did you like it? Are you and Dad proud of me, like, for doing music? Yeah. Yeah. POIGNANT MUSIC Thank you, because I really do want to make you proud. You're welcome. All right. Bye-bye. My parents weren't able to make it today, but we've sent them a CD, and they really loved it. And to me, that's the most important thing. As long as they see that this is what I love doing, and I'm gonna keep doing this, and their support is all I need and all I want it means the world to me. CHEERING I just wanna say thanks so much for coming here today. I really hope you enjoy this first one. It's about getting in touch with my Zambian roots. That's where I'm from. Thank you. # Time stood still, and I packed my bags. # We were young and free. We were blessed... I feel pretty pumped. I can't believe I performed all my songs. This only makes me wanna perform more, and it makes me wanna write more music so that I can perform it to more people. And next time I wanna perform it to an even bigger crowd, and that's my goal every time I perform. And I feel like I'm walking this journey by myself and I'm standing on my two feet, and I love it. # How on earth did I make it this far? # All these sticks and stones broke my bones. # I climbed mountains and I swum oceans,... # and it got a little hard # in a new town. # The sun rising here # is not the same. # We dance to a different drum. We dance to a different beat. We dance to a different drum. # We dance. I climbed mountains,... # and I swum oceans, # and it got a little harder... # Copyright Able 2016.