Very few modern youth know about the Jupiters Band, a
Ndirande born reggae outfit that started in 1983. The Jupiters Band was the
music entity of the moment when Malawi was transiting into multiparty politics in
1993, 10 years after its creation.
The Jupiters, which is an abbreviation of
Junior People Trying to Emphasize Reggae,
Rasta, Religious Sound,
is now set for a renaissance having prepared for it after experiencing how the
music industry has transformed in the last 35 years that it has been in
existence.
The two of its surviving members of its
six pioneering cast, John ‘Nizye’ Namalima and Chicco Nyirenda told This blogger that having studied the music
industry they have realised that the only way for a band to survive is to be on
the road and continuously perform.
“The 2018 is challenging us as a new
season where we now need to start afresh,” said Nizye. “We are establishing
recording studio and what it means is we are to start recording a new album in
February before getting on the road in April.”
The band which has two albums to its
credit Jupiters Burning which
Nyirenda claims was Malawi’s first commercial album recorded at Studio K in
1991 and Nkhondo ndi Anansi recorded
in 2000 but released in 2003 also plans to shoot videos for these previous
tracks.
The
2018 in Jupiters’ Perspective
Chicco says they are diving in back,
cognizant of the numerous challenges that await them.
“Chief among these is the issue of
piracy,” he said before claiming that at the moment there is no music industry
in Malawi.
“There is nothing that we can point at as
Malawi music industry when there is no marketing structure,” he says.
He says most music groups are being
forced to follow the only way to survive which is to hold live performances.
“We know live shows are capital intensive
and we have heavily invested in this area so that once we start, we have a
smooth going,” he added.
Chicco who accumulated a lot of musical
equipment during his stay in the UK also said regulators have not helped the
music industry.
“Royalties are not trickling down to
musicians and yet Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) and Musicians Union of
Malawi (MUM) are there to do something about but are unfortunately sleeping on
their jobs,” claims Nyirenda.
Copyright is a law which Chicco says
should ordinarily have enforcers and yet musicians are left to carry out the
enforcement themselves which is already destined to fail.
“These music institutions are part of the
system that is contributing to the dwindling of the music industry in Malawi,”
he says.
Chicco says a music industry without a
substantive marketing system is a mockery to the artists.
“We need to have an outlet where we can
sell our products,” he insists.
Nyirenda says politicians are also busy
fighting each other without looking at the welfare of a lot of hard working
Malawians including musicians.
They needed to check bodies like Cosoma
to see if they are indeed doing their job. Otherwise if Cosoma was following
what it ought to do, musicians in this country would be reaping fruits of their
toils and become rich as is the case worldwide.
“Musically everything is rotten, and not
even parliament can summon these public bodies to find out what is happening”
says Chicco who was once Southern Region vice Chair for the then Musicians
Association of Malawi and Southern Regional Treasurer for MUM.
Genesis
of the Jupiters
Nizye says the other four pioneer members
of the Jupiters who are unfortunately all dead are Black Mandiwa, who together
with him, was the lead vocalist; Gusto ‘Pablo’ Zuze, the bassist; Gulamu
‘Aston’ Nathu, the drummer; and William ‘Bunny Widz’ who was the rhythm
guitarist.
“On this day in 1983 I was walking on the
road in Ndirande with William who was carrying a guitar when we bumped into
Black who had come from Zingwangwa to see his parents at the Newlines in
Ndirande,” recalls Nizye.
He said Black enquired if they were into
music and when they said yes he promised to come the following day. He kept his
promise as he turned up with Aston and from there on they agreed to form a band
although at that time he was a member of a Zingwangwa based band ‘Rising
Power’.
Nizye evokes that their first outing was
at the French Cultural Centre in Blantyre where together with another old time
local band The Gas Machine Head
curtain raised a French music outfit called Cyclop.
“At that time we were only doing cover
versions for Ivorian reggae stars Ishmael Isaacs and Alpha Blondy,” he said.
Nizye recalls that Jupiters only started
playing their own tracks after Chicco joined them and started composing songs
that made their name including the famous Jupiters
Burning.
In 1986 Nizye recollects that they met up
with Jai Banda, Mr. Entertainer, who was compelled by their skills to start
what was to be called Reggae-By-Foot shows.
“We used to hold these shows at the BAT
ground and had other reggae bands like Young
Generation, Flashers Band of
Steve Ndiche, Burning Youth of Caleb
Munthali and many others,” remembers Nizye.
He said it was at such shows that they
interested one Robert Gondwe who had just arrived back home from Zimbabwe and
took them to Studio K where they impressed with just one audition session and
started recording under the production tutelage of Patrick Khoza.
He said things would have remained rosy
but along the way that’s when they underwent the most difficult times. They
lost Black Mandiwa who place was taken by Niccodemus Njolomole. Unfortunately
he also died immediately after the death of another member William.
Nizye said then Gusto also died and was
briefly replaced by the current Black Missionaries bassist Peter Amidu.
The Jupiters future was bleak when Nizye
left for the United Kingdom in 2002. There was some hope when he sent money to
Chicco and Aston while there to help in releasing the second album which had
already been recorded. However, after Aston also died soon after the release of
the album Chicco also left for the United Kingdom in September 2005.
Upon his return in 2008, Chicco founded
another band which he called Natural
Rites which was only doing live shows.
“We revived Jupiters in 2012 when Nizye
came back from the UK where got other members,” said Chicco and Nizye chipped
in saying at this point they teamed up with Jai Banda again.
The
New look Jupiters
Nizye says they have now opened a new
chapter with new members that include Yamikani Makate on the bass who is
ironically a nephew to the original bassist Gusto.
The others are drummer Ellard Chiwaya,
Keyboard player Mwai while Chicco is playing the rhythm guitar and Nizye is
both leading guitarist and vocalist.
Jupiters’
Reggae Genre
Chicco recalls that when they recorded an
all reggae album, the genre was not as popular but they had a vision that it
will be accepted in future.
“We however vowed to ensure that we give
people genuine reggae music of the Jamaican type not the local Khunju reggae,”
he says.
He says to date the reggae genre has
taken over as everyone including gospel artists are now settling for it.
“Now three-quarters of Malawi music is
reggae, we are a reggae nation!” declared Chicco.
The two Jupiters founding members said
the 2018 continuation of their journey will therefore perpetuate the reggae
genre.
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