As borders prepare to re-open, Samoa is getting ready including a group of local musicians who now jam together every Thursday night at Sails Bar and Restaurant at Mulinuu peninsula.
As the saying goes “Practice makes perfect”. Such is the case for emerging musicians, who have decided to make a commitment to be a part of Samoa showcasing to the world.
Mr Michael Tamanikaiyaroi (Former music tutor of MESC, currently at MNRE) and musicians Namulauulu Franziska Sione (currently working at NRL) and Benjamin Solomona (MESC Orchestra Tutor) have taken up “jamming ” (practice) sessions at Sails as a means to fine-tune their craft.
Mr Tamanikaiyaroi teaches the woodwinds on flute and clarinet. His style is deeply rooted in Jazz and Gospel.
Namulauulu’s expertise is on piano and is also a fan of Jazz and R&B. Namulauulu studied fundamentals of music theory at the University of Edinburgh.
Benjamin Solomona (vocals and music composition) is a classically trained musician and loves to fuse his work with Pop and Funk. Solomona recently returned from a three year scholarship study in China.
All three musicians are multi instrumentalists and prefer playing with notes before dictation by ear.
“It won’t make our ears red by the end of the day” Namulauulu Franziska quipped.
Says Tamanikaiyaroi, leader and mentor, “Music to me is a medium to communicate with my audience. I would like to share a story of my life with them.”
“The best part of my music journey is sharing what I know to other musicians – as well, they share their music knowledge with me.
“It always starts with this simple question – Have you heard of this song?” or “ Do you know of this band or music artist?”
Then the music journey begins.
Tamanikaiyaroi says, “I give all the glory to Jesus for the creativity he has gifted us musicians” said Michael Tamanikaiyaroi. “It’s the only job I want to do when I reach heaven.”
Jamming is another form of practicing together as a band. One comes with his tone and color and the other with his own version of how he or she interprets the song.
The musicians are grateful to have as their sanctuary to jam and play their music.
“We encourage other older and upcoming musos to join us so we can learn together in this music journey!” say the trio.
The performances are free to the public thus far, and a generous donation to the musicians as gratitude is encouraged.
“Sails has always supported emerging musicians – to provide a platform to showcase or fine-tune their craft. We have always supported our musicians, in our twenty six years of existence in Samoa.”
“It is a pleasure for us to see them evolve over the years.”, says Memea Lyvia Black, Proprietor, Sails i Mulinu’u.
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