THE band Sauca N Seda is getting famous for its initiative to promote local Fijian music in the country.
This week we take a look at the band formed by Alesi Naituvau.
Naituvau said the band was formed early this year by unemployed youths from the Delainavesi area in Lami.
She said the idea behind the band was to sing original songs about schools, education and old stories of places in the country.
“While growing up and travelling around Viti Levu, the idea came to me about the different features of Fiji. I decided to put all these into a song,” she said.
“I used to write features for the then Daily Post under the column ” Vola Siga”. I found out that there were some mysterious places out there in Fiji.
“I released my first album back in 2009 which had 10 songs. I didn’t get much response for my songs back then.
“After that, I was looking for a female voice to sing duet with. Then in 2016, I went to Deuba and saw this girl named Eta Gonerogo.”
Ms Naituvau heard Ms Gonerogo sing and approached her after some time. Ms Naituvau asked her to sing with her.
” I knew we would make a good single duet because she had such a good voice. And the best part was that she was also looking forward to singing,” she said.
“We practised together for some time and then we were approached by Exotic Music Fiji to record and sing the Coca-Cola Games theme song this year. The song got famous.
“We started recording some of the songs I had written and also some of the songs Eta had composed.
“We compiled our album together with the help of my husband, George Saumaiwai, who is one of the co-founders and former Black Rose band member.”
Ms Naituvau said her husband was the reason behind the band’s melody in their songs.
“He drives the band forward with his keyboard skills and makes things easy for us. He also manages the band,” she said
“He had left music for some time but I persuaded him to reignite his passion for music and to help us.
“At the moment, we are a live band and we have two singers and the other members include my husband and unemployed youths from my area.
“We might be the first musical band in the country to do a concert at Ratu Cakobau Park which was attended by a minister this year where one tenth of the total concert money was given to the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation to assist families still living in tents after Tropical Cyclone Winston last year.”
Ms Naituvau said the band practised regularly when they got the opportunity and the response from the band members was tremendous.
“Every week we practise and we also get invitations to perform at various festivals around the country,” she said.
“We took part in the Hibiscus Festival this year and just last week took part in the inaugural Delta Music Festival which was held at Syria Park in Nausori.”
She said the band had released an album titled “Bau House QVS” this year which had 10 original songs.
“We got a very good response from this album and we are happy that people are appreciating our work,” Ms Naituvau said.
According to her, the band is working on another album titled ” Dilio”.
“For this album, we are dedicating songs to Ballantine Memorial School (BMS) Old Girls and Tovata House from QVS .
“This will be a single album with 10 songs altogether.
“The two dedicated songs will be released later this month and the rest of the album later in the year,” she said.
Ms Naituvau said one of the many challenges faced by the band was that all the band members were unemployed.
“The boys face a lot of hardships but we manage to pull through.
“Another issue is copyright. Piracy has become a very prevalent issue in the country nowadays.
“Bus companies are remixing our songs and when we approach them to pay us the royalties, they decline.
“We can’t do much because we are referred to the authorities. But we still manage to push through for our compact disks (CDs) in the local music market,” she said.
As for future plans, the band has lined up overseas tours which will see them perform in the Solomon Islands in December and in Manila, Philippines.
“We will be performing live during our tours to these countries. Our music has reached the Solomons so we have been invited to tour the island,” she said.
“Also we want to continue recording our music. Our major aim is to own a music shop for all local musicians to come and record with us for free.
“We want to reach the very top of the local music industry.”
With all the hardships and dedication from the band members, the band “Sauca N Seda” has managed to create a place in the hearts of many in the country in a short period of time.
So next time, when you hear the band performing anywhere in the country, remember the origin of their beginnings and how they have managed to come this far.
