Productive Cameroon experience for Erna

Fresh from a trip to Cameroon, Erna Chimu sounded upbeat on her experiences in the west African country. The Namibian live performer whose music can be described as a fusion of soulful African and traditional sounds returned with only good things to say of her recent participation at the Le-Kolatier festival.

Accompanying her on the trip were three of her acoustic band members.

Sharing the stage with 17 other artists, Erna impressed the audience with her original Namibian sounds.

“The people really love our music. It was an awesome experience and we were basically treated like royalty the entire time that we were there,” she told The Namibian yesterday.

The festival, also known as the African Music Market takes place every two years in Douala and is widely regarded as an amazing gathering of some of the best African musicians in the region. The event also consists of interactive activities like seminars, workshops and a fun trade fair. Here, Erna and her band had a unique opportunity to share the stage with artists from all corners of the African continent.

The experience also led to a publishing deal for Erna, whose music will in the future be available to outside Namibia.

“A publishing label from there wants to expose my music online. My music only used to be available in Namibia and through this connection, my music will go global”, she said. Comparing the music industry in Cameroon to the one back home, Erna says that musicians take their craft much more seriously in Cameroon.

Live music, she says, is also highly regarded in comparison with Namibia, where live music is only just gaining momentum. “Namibian artists need to pull up their socks and become professional. They should carry themselves better and avoid becoming drug or alcohol addicts as no one will take them seriously if they do. It is these things that give us the reputation that we as artists are unreliable”, she advises.

Erna, along with all the artists who took part in the festival, will be featured on a compilation album which will be made available to festival organisers all over the world. This will be another sure fire way that Erna’s beautiful chants will be carried to more corners of the world.

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