We just do what we think sounds good

The Very Best, a Malawian/Swedish pop duo, will this month perform at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, which is one of the biggest music festivals in the world.  The Very Best is a collaboration between London-based Swedish DJ/producer Johan Hugo and Esau Mwamwaya, a singer from Lilongwe.  Their music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hip-hop, pop, and the traditional music of Malawi. The group performs at the Glastonbury Festival on June 25, which is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place near Pilton, Somerset in the UK.  CHILL talks to Johan Hugo about the upcoming performance, and much more.

Q

: The band seems not to have made inroads into the Malawian market, despite you performing at international festivals across the world. What do you think is the problem?

A

: I am not sure, probably it is due to the fact that our music is not your average Malawian type of music. It’s a blend of dance music, African music and rock music among other influences. And then Esau singings in Chichewa.

But it’s not the kind of music you hear a lot on radio in Malawi, for example. I also think we’ve always focused on the international music market more than on Malawi.

Our record labels are in UK and USA so they want us to focus on these territories. Esau lives in Malawi, but he’s mostly in Europe for touring and making music so we don’t get that much time to promote our music in Malawi normally either. Sooner or later I’m sure people in Malawi will realise who Esau is and our music will get better reach locally.

Q

: There are reports that you are playing at Glastonbury and Hyde Park in June and July. Can you shed more light on this and other performances around this?

A

: Yes, were playing at the Glastonbury Festival for the first time on the 25th of June. This is a really special thing for us. We’re playing at the West Holts stage at sunset, which is one of the best stages and times to play. It also broadcasts live on BBC TV in UK and online. We’re also performing a few songs with Baaba Maal for his set on the Pyramid stage, which is the biggest stage at Glastonbury.

We’re really looking forward to it. Adele and Coldplay are headlining the days we are there and we’re bringing on a lot of special guests for our The Very Best performance. We are trying to make it something really special.

Aside that, we have a new mini album coming out on the 17th of June with Mumford & Sons, Baaba Maal and Beatenburg, it’s called Johannesburg. We recorded it in Johannesburg, South Africa, during our tour in January. So, at Hyde Park we will perform the songs together in front of 80 000 people which will also be a very special show for us this summer. We’re playing at a lot more festivals across Europe and UK this summer, but I guess Hyde Park and Glastonbury will be something very special!

Q

: How does it feel to play Glastonbury and performing at Hyde Park in a space of two weeks?

A

: It feels amazing!! We were super excited. And we are preparing very special shows for both festivals, two very different shows too.

There will be a lot of rehearsals when Esau gets to London in a couple of weeks.

Q

: Is this the biggest highlight for The Very Best so far?

A

: It’s definitely up there with some of really amazing things we have gotten to do, festivals are always amazing and we’re always really excited when summer is starting and festivals are beginning.

And I think our new band is really amazing too so this is the first time we’re doing these kind of big shows with the full new band which makes it extra special because our live show is much better these days.

Q

: How would you define your music?

A

: I have no idea, It’s hard to describe. We mess with all kinds of music, dance music, reggae, hip-hop, rock, folk, African and European. We just do what we think sounds good and what brings out the best from Esau as a singer.

Q

: The Very Best’s music always seems to change with the release of each album. What contributes to this?

A

: I think we’re just constantly excited about new styles of music and we play around a lot with different styles and just see what works. We don’t try to have rules for what kind of music we should be doing. As long as Esau’s voice is there, it’s The Very Best. He is the glue that makes it all work.

Q

: For some music, happiness is the end goal. What’s your end goal?

A

:There’s a lot on the line, you know, Esau makes his living off this, and he can’t just go out and do something on his own tomorrow, there are no jobs in Malawi.

For me it means, like essentially we tried to find life security for Esau, and that’s what works itself into the title. Make the King, overcome the struggle, and it’s important lyrics to both of us, and surviving the music industry

Not just waiting for this thing to happen where you’ll be happy because you succeeded or you had a certain amount of money or built a house. Esau’s been trying to build a house for eight years, but you should be happy during that process, and that’s what we do. n