On Thursday, April 3, 2025, Suva’s Civic Centre Upper Auditorium was more than a stage.
Sema Mai (Come Together) united Ju Ben and Francisco Bhagwan with V5 (now Vā), Ben Masirewa, Naiqama Lalabalavu, and Ben Skiie.
Not only did their genre-bending experience stir hearts, it also earned them the Adelaide Fringe Tour Ready Award.
This was both recognition and beginning: the birth of a collective crafted to capture the mind, true to the meaning of vesumona in Fijian.
With that, Spectrum emerged.
Comprised of three acts, Spectrum was named after the wide range of artforms, genres, and stories that make up this collective. And now, they are embarking on their debut tour: The Vesumona Tour.
The tour aims to raise much-needed funds to make it to the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Australia’s largest arts festival but also the second-largest in the world and the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, in February next year.
The journey begins at Heineken Wanfire Music Festival on September 27, and culminates in Return of the Dragon — their inaugural solo concert — at Yat Sen Hall on October 9. For alumni Francisco, Ben, and Naiqama, performing on that childhood stage is nothing short of poetic.
Faces of the collective
Francisco Bhagwan, at 20, stands as the creative core of Spectrum.
Born and raised in Suva, he began playing keyboard at age two and launching recorded remixes by age 12 in his bedroom recording studio.
His breakout single Take Your Time earned him a Top 10 spot in ABC Australia’s Pacific Break 2024, while his debut EP Mangrove Seed, which includes tracks like Silver Lining (feat. V5), Manta Ray, and Last Night at the Windowsill, has been praised for its genre-defying fusion of funk, R&B, and soul.
His collaboration Pasifika Rising — a powerful call for Pacific self-determination — saw him join forces with Ben Masirewa and Ju Ben.
His latest neo-soul collaboration, Hanging on a Star, debuted with soulful vocalist Kali Tui and was featured on ABC’s Sista Sounds.
Ben Masirewa, Spectrum’s musical director and guitarist and vocalist for 4 Quarters, channels blues grit and funk soul with every note. He has a reputation as a “one-man musical genius.”
He’s inspired by guitar legends — Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler — and music, he says, is where you truly share your truth.
His debut solo track Burning, produced for the Witness Stand Project, to reach the International Court of Justice on climate justice, positions him as both artist and advocate.
Bhagwan and Masirewa have also been session musicians for songs by Ju Ben, Nicky Beddoes and Kali Tui. Masirewa has been mentoring Bhagwan’s live performances by including him as a keyboardist for 4 Quarters.
4 Quarters supply the groove: Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, the visual and rhythmic force, brings self-taught comic-book illustration into intimate dialogue with percussion — embodying Spectrum’s interdisciplinary spirit, while Philip Tigarea lays down funk-infused basslines that anchor the collective.
Vā enriches the narrative: Lia Daunakamakama (whose breakthrough came as the lead in the local production of the musical Mamma Mia!) and Vika Tuisawau contribute layered vocals, their voices polished by choir and musical theatre work with Prima Navia Choir, and bring movement via Moana Loa/Oceania Dance Theatre, captivating with both sound and presence. Jasmine Daunakamakama, uniquely both singer and boxer, (as a 19-year-old boxer, she made history as the first female Fijian boxer at Paris Olympic qualifiers) brings soulful power to the vocal trio.
Sevu Tuisawau steadies the beat with his drums and William Sanday completes the band as a triple threat with his bass, songwriting, and vocals.
Anga’aefonu Bain-Vete brings a visual experience to the show with her live painting, her canvas mic’ed up to bring each brush stroke to life and elevate the concert’s soundscape.
Atueta “Tuets” Rabuka, Spectrum’s unstoppable MC, fills the space between songs with kinetic storytelling, satire, and heartfelt prose.
From mind to stage
The Vesumona Tour is a first step in Spectrum’s journey of immersive artistry. It kicks off at the Heineken Wanfire Music Festival and crescendos on October 9 in Yat Sen Hall at Return of the Dragon.
Opening for Spectrum in October is The Wires, Yat Sen Secondary School’s very own student band, performing on their home stage.
Here, history meets musical ambition in ways meant to capture the mind as only vesumona can.