THE Namibian music industry has come from being dominated by one or two genres to growing into a more diverse industry which offer something for every ear, as well as a standard of quality that can be appreciated by music lovers within and beyond our borders.
Back in the day, live music carried a lot of value and was deemed one of the best means of quality entertainment, but as technology advanced musicians were introduced to backtracks and it slowly but surely became part of the music industry to a point that the majority of artists made and continue to make use of backing tracks when performing.
Live music was becoming something of the past with only a few artists still performing with a life band.
Platforms like the Last Band Standing and the Windhoek Jazz Festival are certainly an attempt to revive the art of live music.
Artists like Hishishi Papa, Erna Chimu, Blossom and Esme have vowed to keep the flame of live music alive by always performing with a live band.
One other artist that stayed true to the live music is Eliaser ‘Oompie’ Kavari who describes his music as mature Soul, Jazz and R&B
Kavari may be relatively unknown to the industry because he has no album out yet, but in live music circles, he is a musical guru who has refused to conform to the norm of backtracking.
“I started singing in church at the age of five and as soon as I finished high school in 2004, I told myself I want to do music,” Kavari said.
He went into live performing on a full time basis and has to date performed at various events, including the 2007 Old Mutual Jazz Festival and the 2012 Last Band Standing grand finale where he performed with the band Ugly Creatures. Recently he also graced the stage at the Namibia Annual Music Awards 2014.
He has also worked with big names like Gazza, Jericho, Mr Makoya and Jean-Michael to name a few.
Despite having being in the industry for almost a decade, Kavari is yet to release an album.
He says that apart from losing all his work due to technical problems, pushing a career in live music is a huge sacrifice and economically, like a game of dice.
“Going live can be a risk because you have to perform with a band and the band needs to be taken care of. I recorded a lot of stuff just waiting for my breakthrough so that I can release back to back,” he said.
Kavari said that he has stayed true to live music because of the quality it produces.
“Our industry is not fully grown yet and that is why you would see that the market for Jazz, R&B and Soul is not as heavy as Kwaito for example.
Genres like Jazz and Soul require live performance, but I do believe that there is a market and that quality live music can come from the industry,” Kavari said.
He, along with other live music advocates believe that an increase in live performances will add much needed value to the music industry, which will help artists push Namibian music beyond our borders.
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