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Cristina Dio caught up with Moses upon his
return to Australia for a chat about his musical adventures overseas,
the afro-music scene and his new recordings!
CD: What did you get up to overseas?
Moses: I have recently been on tour in
Ghana and it was so great. I toured with some of
the most popular hip-life artists in Ghana at the moment - Tic
Tac, VIP etc Some
of the crowds were thousands and thousands of people. There were
lots of
tourists in Ghana because of the big music festival called Panafest.
I also
received a lot of praise and recognition from my involvement on
the short film
"Inja" - it was a nominee in this year's Oscar Awards
- filmed in South Africa
and directed and produced by two Australians. I am so proud that
I helped to
compose and perform music for a project that got the highest level
possible in
the film industry. I was the first Ghanaian musician to be featured
as a main
news story for that on Ghana TV. It was also all over the radio
and newspapers.
It backs up my two awards as Ghana's best International Music
Ambassador for
2000 and 2002. In Denmark and Europe I am always involved in the
big festivals.
I have my Moses O'Jah band in Denmark and a couple of other bands
too - it
always keeps me busy.
CD: Moses what brings you back to Australia?
Moses: Australia is a great country and
I know I have a lot of fans here. It's a
country that is full of people from different cultures, so I think
they enjoy
and respect interesting music that reflects a person's roots and
identity. My
wife is also Australian, so as well as Ghana, it's my home.
CD: You've been away for a while - do you
think our afro-music scene has
changed or grown since you've been away?
Moses: I think that music is always changing
and that's what makes it wonderful and
keeps us motivated to create new and interesting pieces. I think
that Afro-music
is always growing in Australia. The crowds always go crazy over
African
percussion - but it's also my aim to show that African music consists
of a lot
more than that. I can see that I have opened people's eyes with
my music which
is a wonderful thing - my music is about fun, but I also think
it educates
people as well.
CD: How do you see your band fitting into
the grander scheme of things?
Moses: I think that my music is quite
unique amongst the African artists. Even though I
am from Ghana and proud of it, I like to also represent myself
as an African -
so I reflect that in my music. I take traditional rhythms from
many African
countries, I use my tradional instruments on stage and I combine
all of that
with modern western styles and the latest technology. Afro, highlife,
reggae,
jazz, funk, ragga etc. The end result is a really interesting
fusion of sounds
that always has the crowd dancing! This is what makes our band
popular because
there are so many different sounds it appeals to a wide variety
of people.
CD: A lot of local musicians complain about
our world music scene and they
hate being called "world music" - how do you feel about
that?
Moses: Maybe the term "world music"
has been overused and so it doesn't create an
exciting image in people's minds. It's hard to label so many different
sounds
under one big umbrella. I think we have to become conscious of
projecting our
individuality. I am an African musician and I represent Ghana
and the whole of
Africa - but my aim is to spread my music around the world - so
that's what
makes it world music. As long as all musicians stay focused and
keep positive,
we can achieve our goal - it doesn't matter what people want to
call us.
CD: You said you have been recording lately-
when can we expect your next CD
and what sort of music will be on it?
Moses: For some time now I have been working
on a CD to release in Ghana - it's being
released in about a month's time. I made one track with Tic Tac
and another with
VIP and the result was great. A real mixture of my sounds mixed
with modern
hip-life - something that my fans have not heard before. Of course
there are
plenty of other sounds - a sweet, emotional ballad, some reggae,
highlife etc. I
also want to do the same kind of mixture for my new CD to release
in Australia
later on. For now, Australians haven't heard my CD called Benya
which I will be
selling during this tour. I had just finished it at the very end
of my last
Australian tour - so now they have a chance to get it - and they'll
recognise
some songs from our concerts. It's a great CD.
CD: I've heard you do some great reggae and
funk numbers live - will we hear
that on your next recording?
Moses: As I explained, I am always using
lot's of styles in my music - so reggae and
funk always feature somewhere. They are always very popular live
as well. As a
teenager in Ghana I was known as "The African James Brown"
- I even danced like
him, so funk is in the blood. The original reggae is also a great
inspiration to
me - Bob Marley, Lucky Dube, Peter Tosh - the lyrics and rhythms
are classic and
will never die.
CD: What can we expect from your show?
Moses: You can expect a fantastic show
that's for sure. I like to start with a
demonstration of my traditional instruments at some of my shows
- the Kora,
Kalimba, Talking Drum, Balafon etc - plus I do a few vocal pieces
using
traditional African harmonies - to keep our traditions alive and
respected. The
band that join me on stage always create a colourful and powerful
show - there
is always fun, high energy, percussion and lot's of dancing on
stage. Of course,
for New Years Eve and The Basement I will have the full nine piece
on stage - my
original Moses O'Jah band - fans know how great they are. Thoses
gigs will be
fantastic. But of course, we are doing a big tour and whichever
one you see, you
are guaranteed to have a great time!
