Tarajika interviewed – African House innovators
Tarajika are doing it for the love of it while representing a sound that is unapologetically theirs.
They are African, this is what they celebrate and what you get to enjoy when watching them perform.
DJ Emotionz, Maggz, Uche, and DJ Skhu talk to us about their take on house music, having audiences appreciate the authenticity in their music, playing at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, and finalizing their album.
Why is it important for you as creative people to harness your collective African-ness and use it within your music and overall creative image as artists?
Tarajika: As Tarajika, we love, appreciate and understand the diversity that we all bring within the band. We also are aware of the constant changes in the music and thus try and select the influences that we can keep in order to keep us grounded and true to our sound . We look up to people who are diverse in their craft such as Fela Kuti, Mahlathini, and Mahotella Queens. These are people who have stayed true to their origins and music no matter how much international influences they got exposed to.
House music infused with African instrumentals has a distinct and intoxicating effect on the overall sound. In a way it breathes life and vibrancy into the genre, owning it, and making its mark on the house music culture in SA. How do you view the response to your sound and what do you want audiences both local and international to take away from your music and your performances?
Tarajika: Crowds differ wherever we go, at first we used to feel a bit down when we performed for an audience that did not understand our music. But now we have got to a point that we engage everyone and most of the time the response that we get is so overwhelming and unbelievable that we even get in a trance. We would like our audience both local and international to understand and appreciate the authenticity of the African sound.
You performed at the world famous Cape Town International Jazz festival. What did you take away from that experience and what did you enjoy the most about the opportunity?
Tarajika: We firstly did not believe that we will be performing at such an international platform, we were still stunned when we were at the rehearsals. We must admit it was one of our first highlights in our career as a band. We enjoyed the crowd the most because it was like we were in sync with them, some sang our songs and we didn’t even know that people knew who we were. Being in the presence of artists of such a caliber was a total honour for us.
How did you end up collaborating with Fiesta on your single “Take Me Away”?
Tarajika: Fiesta Black is quite feisty and we loved that in her and she is so authentic as well. We met at the Muthalant studios and we were just thinking we need a female vocalist. She honestly was not there to record with us, while she listened to our track she started jamming to it and we loved what she did and that’s how the collaboration was born .
When your first saw your video for “Good Love” playing on Channel O, where were you all, what were you doing, and what went through your minds?
Tarajika: The first time we saw the video we were all in different places and had different emotions. When we all eventually got to see the video it was quite an emotional three minutes of our lives. We felt proud and realized then that our careers are really taking off .
No doubt you have been putting in the work this year as success starts to roll in for you guys along with positive reviews. What will you be kicking off with in the new year in the way of gigs and new releases?
Tarajika: We have finalized our album and are currently pushing our new single “Take Me Away ” ft Fiesta Black. In 2017 we would like to be on stages such as Bush Fire, Spring Fiesta and all other huge platforms. During the festive season our fans can catch us in and around the country they just need to check our social media updates for details.
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