Every generation has its own king and queen of the music charts, and back then there were such names as Sakuisa Bulicokocoko, Danny Costello, Lia Osborne, Michelle Rounds and Annie Kumar to name a few.
To be honest, many musicians would have never been anybody else without their music but they did work extremely hard to get to stardom.
There’ve been the incredibly talented Tom Mawi and the Rabaka brothers, who renowned musician Ken Jansen talks highly about.
Steve Macomber was a showman who joined the famous Roostrata’s Freddy Fesaitu and crew of budding musical metros in the 80s.
One generation brought us Laisa Vulakoro, Georgina Ledua, Talei Burns.
I could go on naming musicians but the focus lens is zooming in on a new team calling themselves VT1S. Just like the ‘mirror on the wall that foresees the most beautiful one of them all’, the mirror now reflects the images of Taufa, Naomi, Oni, Liz and Pojee —the next generation of musicians brandishing the VTBop Music.
In my previous exclusive interviews, I wrote at length to describe the atmosphere on March 5 VT1S concert that rocked Suva.
So, this week, we go deeper into the real life experiences of how music saved Taufa and the great influence of music at home for Naomi.
Music saved my life
VT1S powerhouse vocalist Taufa, 24, (Tulia Taufa Koli) of Lami Village with maternal ties to Dakuni in Beqa, has two big hits on the airwaves though her struggles and challenges as a young girl was one she had to fight her way out of. Taufa enjoyed sports.
She represented the Suva netball U21 and harboured big dreams of making it into the Silver Ferns — New Zealand’s elite netters — but everything changed in 2015 when she got pregnant.
“My mum and dad separated when we were very young and my siblings and I had to be separated as well,” she says. ”
They were brought up together while I was brought up alone. I have a big sister and a small brother who mean the absolute world to me.
“I was brought up by my grandmother who later migrated to Australia and gave me to my dad’s sister (my aunty) and my uncle who raised me as their own.
“I was the black sheep of the family. I moved from house to house and most people would treat me however they wanted because they knew my parents were away and I didn’t have anyone to complain to.
“Don’t get me wrong, my aunty and uncle gave me the world and everything I wanted but I just felt something missing.
“Music was sort of my escape. I’d just listen to music and sing along while crying in the room or I’d stroll to the nearest park, play songs and just sing and cry my heart out.
“God had great plans for me and I’m forever thankful to him for everything he put me through and keeping me safe all throughout those years. Taufa’s life changed afterwards and in 2018 she signed up in the Vocal Battle S1 where she met overseas artist Richard Tanumi who mentored her.
“He heard my voice and instantly roped me in to get a song recorded. He introduced me to Tropic Thunda who called me a few months later to work on a jingle. He played me a beat and I instantly recorded a melody to it and he passed it to Serenation (Stee) to write to it.
“That was the song Malevani.
“If I don’t listen to music while cleaning or even bathing, I’d feel something is missing. I do my own melodies for all the songs that I have recorded and we passed them on to Serenation, except Loloma.
“Now I’m excited working with VT1S Volume two album. It’s in the works. Also concerts, more singles and I’m releasing one very soon.
“Look out for that one. We’re gonna be working on more music.
“This is all just the beginning. More to come. The single I dropped on Monday which is Buwana and another single coming
this Friday.”
Naomi the next best thing
Meet Naomi Ruci Kaloumaira, 23, stage name Naomi whose debut single Nomu Yali has been a hit.
Originally from Uluibau, Motoriki in Lomaiviti and with maternal ties to Vutia in Rewa, she comes from a musical family.
“Anything that had to do with music, whether playing an instrument or working on a song composition, it all comes naturally to me because of the environment I was exposed to growing up,” she says.
“I did not realise I had a particular talent in singing until I was 10 years old, in Class Four at Veiuto Primary School.
“My friends and I cut out song lyrics from the Kaila page and pasted it in our music book and started belting out the songs during a free period in school, I’d say that was my epiphany moment,” she adds.
Naomi grew up in Namadi Heights with her parents and seven siblings, five of whom are boys and two girls.
Like most Pacific islanders her family loves music and so there was always someone singing or on an instrument playing Jazz, RnB, Reggae, Funk, Black Gospel or Country.
“The only music we were allowed to play out loud in the house was gospel music, but being the sneaky kids we were, we would always find ways to listen to other genres of music.
“My father and my elder brothers taught me how to play the guitar, piano and a little bit of the bass guitar, and I just naturally picked up singing as well from them.
“The first time I sang in front of people, other than my family, was in church.
“I was about eight years old and my father, who was a deacon at the time and played the keyboard in church, encouraged my sisters and I to sing a special number during service one Sunday. I later ventured in to performing gigs.
“Then my good friend and fellow artist Henry Steele told me a producer wanted to get in touch with me concerning a project the producer wanted to collaborate on. Henry then gave me Tropic Thunda’s Instagram handle, we got in touch and had a meeting about a week later at the studio, where Thunda then showed me their vision.
“Thunda asked me if I was interested in being a part of it and I was amazed at the concept of it all, and I willingly agreed as it was also always a dream of mine to be as positively influential as I can be through my music, especially if it means challenging the usual limited range of genres that I’ve witnessed locally.
“I’ve found that I can best express my thoughts and feelings through music, it is my safe space so as such I love being involved in anything that has to do with it, be it playing an instrument, writing a song, composing a melody and/or singing.
“My family continues to be my inspiration.
“I am definitely releasing music in the near future, some of which are already in the works.
- Next week Liz and Pojee’s unforgettable experiences
