Sa 'A Si'a Dina Arai
MUSICIAN Laisa Vulakoro, commonly known as the Vude Queen, has come a long way.
Her tremendous contribution to the local music industry has inspired so many young and upcoming talents.
Tomorrow marks another milestone for Vulakoro as she prepares to launch her new album ‘Sa ‘A Si’a Dina ‘Arai’.
Speaking to Fiji Times Vulakoro says “After so much public demand, I decided to launch this album. After the success of Bitu Kavoro which I released in 2015, I had the strong feeling and urge to release another one, and plus it’s been three years already. It took us four months to complete this album,”
Sa 'A Si'a A Dina Arai will be her 16th album since launching her first on a South Pacific Recording (SPR) label in 1988.
“My fans keep me on my toes. They’re always sending me messages asking when I will record again. They want to hear more new songs or demand I re-record some of my old songs.
So I’m always working, writing, and thinking. It is great and I love it. I thank God for giving me the energy to always pull through everything I set my mind to do.
The new album is made up of 11 songs of which most are the queens own composition “ A few are collaborations with other composers. One was written by one of my brothers, Matai. I try to find and bring in more female composers as in this album I introduced a new songwriter, Luisa Torakobau Jonathan from Tavualevu, Tavua.
“She came to me with her own dialect songs and I jumped at the opportunity. Her songs were rejected by a few artists that she approached so she came to me. When I read her lyrics and heard the melodies, I immediately loved it and worked on them with my nephew Marika Nakete.
“Her song Aule, Aule, Aule (track 2) was the second song I put on the radio as a single after ‘Sa ‘A Si’a Dina ‘Arai’ and it went to number one in no time.“Her other songs are Tara Riki Na Cola (track 11) and Money Money Money Money (track 10) which we co-wrote.”
The beauty of this new album is it caters for all age groups including the young, the energetic youth, middle-aged listeners.
One of the new songs featured in the album is 'Delsy' which Vulakoro says is a new style and was written for her friend - Rafaele Delai who hails from Ra. “It was quite exciting venturing into this new style. We thought to do a beat that suits the younger generation and we were happy with the end result.
Her nephew Marika Nakete has also played a big part in the queens music career having assisted in composing most of her songs.
Like all music albums this album also has a love song called 'Au Sa Guilecavi' written by Vulakoro's younger brother Matai in 1998. The song was first recorded in 200 at SPR and released in her earlier album 'Oirarua'
The album also includes a remake of her song 'Koula Ni Domomu' released in 2003. This time around the Queen of Vude has decided to add the 'vude' flavor to this song and the reaction to it so far has been rewarding.
Another track to look out for if 'Maliana' which is about a close friend of Laisa - Viliame Waqalaivi's younger sister who passed away a few years ago and her fight and struggle with her sickness in her short life. "I was touched by her story and her fight and struggle with her sickness in her short life so I asked Vili if it was OK for me to write her song. The whole song is about the last conversation that brother and sister had before she died. It was quite hard recording it as we would start and stop continuously because I kept breaking down in tears while singing during takes."
Other tracks on the album include Oilei Oilei, Noqu Drodrolagi which was recorded in the early 90's but will be released with a modern reggae beat. Another love song to look out for.
Money Money Money Money Money also featured in the album was written by Luisa Torakobau and is “a reminder to ourselves about how to spend money wisely and our behavior when we have plenty and when we have none "
A song titled Ei Tarariki Na Cola written by Laisa showcases the dialects of the Ra Provinces and is a Greeting and Bula Song!
Her main song and title for the album Sa ‘A Si’a Dina is about friendship and was written about "my friendship with a very close friend who is like a son to me, Epi Nasaroa. It is a fun song written in about five minutes last year during a rehearsal time. When I first read the lyrics out to Epi, I told him that this song was going to be a hit. He didn’t really think much of it until we recorded it. Now it has become phenomenal and it makes me mega happy."
“It was the first song to be recorded and this was done at George Wasile’s Tropic Thunda Studio in Vatuwaqa and features local hip hop artist Willie ‘Wilo’ Usuramo. While recording this track, I had asked the producer, George, to find me a rapper who speaks Solomon Pidjin and wrote down what I needed to be translated and left for the UK.
“My nephew Marika Nakete took the song to the radio stations when it was finalised. I was still in the UK when it became number one on both Viti FM and Bula FM. I never met Wilo, the rapper, until two months later after the song had been playing on air.” Vulakoro said she was happy at the way the songs and the whole album turned out and she felt that this album would be her best yet.
The Queen of Vude admits it was not all smooth sailing with her music career. At 48 years old she had baby and in 2008 she undergone an operation for a brain tumor. Two years later in 2010 her marriage 'broke down' and had to relearn how to write songs. This is when she called on her friends Calvin Rore, Damiano Ralogaivau, the late Allan Alo, Master Igelese Ete, her brother Matai and nephew Marika who helped her through the dark times.
“Two of the first songs I wrote again was Bitu Kavoro and Bili Bara. Writing and recording the album was a dark time in my life. I was struggling to deal with all my issues and raising my young son Lote at the same time.
“I later realized that the actual process of writing and recording the album Bitu Kavoro helped me recover and regain my abilities as a songwriter and composer.
“Also being around close family and close musician friends, people that really love you played a huge part in my recovery. I thank God for my positive attitude and maintaining the positiveness throughout the dark times is so important. You kick the negativity out of your life and go full speed ahead.”
The Queen of Vude says that is album was a transition from Bitu Kavoro as she learned to release all negativity - ' I freed my heart totally!Forgave everything!Got divorced. Recording this album Sa 'A Si'a Dina Arai , I've never felt so good in a long time. '
“We thank our wonderful sponsors; The Fiji Times, TABS Investments, Holiday Inn, Communications Fiji Ltd, Infinity Events Group, Profile Productions, Quality Print Ltd, Unitex Fiji, Procera Music and Vude Vibes,” she said.
Her album launch is at 6pm tomorrow 10th of August at the Holiday Inn Pool Side
‘Sa ‘A Si’a Dina ‘Arai’ will be available soon from iTunes stores worldwide through iDigLig Records in Australia.
Image: Adi Nacola Graphic : Epi Nasaroa
Source : Fiji Times | VISHAAL KUMAR | Epi Nasaroa
