IN last week’s Backtracks, we featured the new look Makare Fiji headed by Nadi based artists Simi Rova and William ‘Big Wilz” Waqanibaravi.
Since announcing band’s revival, the pair have been quietly working on a 10-track album they hope to finish by the end of June.
And to keep the excitement alive around the much-anticipated comeback, the duo released Fascinating Fiji in April – a remade and newer version of the song penned by the late politician Ted Beddoes and sung by the ‘golden voice’, the late Jese Mucunabitu.
A song that depicts Fiji’s natural beauty captured in lyrics like “Green waters kiss the golden beaches….Tradewinds whisper to the palm trees. This is the land of “Isa Lei”, it is easy to see why the late Mr Beddoes wrote this ode to his country of birth.
But what has made the song live through the ages is the smooth vocals of the late Mucunabitu who sings each lyric with such conviction you’re transported to a white sandy beach, palm fronds over your head with a sense of unimaginable pride.
An inspiration to many artists, Mucunabitu also brought to life other classics that represented his love for Fiji like Heaven in My Fiji, Tropical Dawn and Oh My Islands in the Sun.
Mucunabitu’s voice, says Big Wilz, had people reminiscing of Fiji and times of old growing up in the islands.
“We wanted to keep that feeling in our version of the song.”
Big Wilz opens the song with his clear, strong and melodic voice sung over Simi’s distinct guitar cords.
Makare’s version pays homage to the original but adds their own distinct sound that many modern and old listeners alike would appreciate.
Simi takes over from the third verse belting out “At dusk, the throng of a Lali drift soft as the last wave in flight, oh tell me who you are calling out here in the warmth of the night” and transitions into a guitar solo reminiscent of rhythms that littered Makare’s first body of work.
I sat down with the pair recently to talk about their new chapter and decision to release their take of an old classic.
“There’s so much happening in Fiji right now that when you go on social media the perception that people are putting out is like Fiji is one of the worst countries to live in,” says Big Wilz.
“The view that people are planting in the minds of those who are reading their posts is almost like they are madua (ashamed) to be Fijian.
“Everything about being Fijian is negative because of the toxicity of social media.
“So when we were talking about what song we should work on first, Simi suggested Fascinating Fiji.
“Because we need an injection of some positivity.”
He says a person who does not have social media would agree with the lyrics of the song.
“To them life is the same. It is laid back and Fiji is still heaven on earth.”
Simi agreed saying the song represented a time in Fiji when everything was simple.
“There was no social media. People enjoyed life and lived in a space where they accepted each other despite their flaws.
“It is a song written by Ted Beddoes who was a parliamentarian and who saw Fiji for what it was. A melting pot of different cultures living in a group of islands surrounded by all of this natural beauty.
“I had met him at Mick Beddoes’ home in Sabeto, and he wanted us to record some of his songs and that’s where I asked about his songs.
“He told us that he wrote most of Jese Mucunabitu’s song who is also an inspiration to us, and most of these songs were what made Jese famous for his voice and the lyrics that he sang.
“That’s where I knew that we had to keep these classic songs alive.
“I really wanted to revive some of the songs that these two great singers and songwriters put together.”
The pair believe that songwriting is becoming a lost art in today’s modern Fiji.
“The way songs are written now are very on the surface,” reflects Big Wilz.
“They’re about love, heartbreak and it is the only message that seems to be repeated over and over again.
“There is not much depth in them.
“Songs of old could be about a love story but told in a very different way.
“If you listen to the way our elders wrote their songs they could be singing about love but they’re singing about the moon or about a significant landmark or a flower and it is woven into a love song.
“That is the beautiful thing about our old Fijian songs and that is one of the main reasons we wanted to form Makare.
“To bring these classic Fijian songs to a much younger audience and show them how beautiful our songs are and the way they were written.
“If we don’t sing it and keep these songs alive, they will be lost and forgotten.”
Simi adds that having a good mentor will help the next generation of songwriters.
“Today’s Fijian songs are good and there is a market for it but for us we want to bring back the classics with a new twist and remind people that while we are moving towards the new, we also have our history and our old songs.
“Today’s songwriters just need a bit of guidance and one way they can do that is to listen to what was written by our older songwriters and composers.”
As they work to bring back classics to a modern audience, the pair are adamant they will stick to what the Makare style of music is which is heavily influenced by Jazz, Blues and R&B.
“The kids nowadays are more tuned into beats and they’re not really into the lyrics.
“You can see why everybody is playing AI music now. The translation is all wrong and the words are not sung correctly but they don’t care.
“What we are doing is giving people a choice.
“We are bringing back old classics with a modern sound recorded and presented in a very clear style of music which is really what Makare means which is bringing you an old song with a little bit more clarity to it.
“So, if you don’t like the music that is going around right now then you have a choice to listen to our songs and not just be sold on one style.
“Our songs are catered more to the older listeners who don’t like going to the nightclubs or big concerts and standing for three to four hours to enjoy music.
“We are more laid back and you can sit down, have a glass of wine, have dinner while listening to some really good music.
“So that is what we want to present in our live music too.”
The live music is what the two artists are most excited about as they set a June target to present their new songs in a concert.
“We are at the recording stage, and we are setting our target to hold a live concert by the end of June because we are a live-band musicians so when we do release our songs we want to present it live as well.
“We have a good line-up of veteran musicians.
“The recording itself is done by Simi and I with Nezbitt (Hazelman) helping us.
“We want to go on tour and hopefully to have two or three concerts before the end of the year.”
