Back in 2007 a chance meeting in a London secondhand shop became the springboard for one of the most unlikely - and critically acclaimed - cross cultural musical mashups since M.I.A. When shopkeeper and recent Malawian immigrant Esau Mwamwaya began talking with producer Etienne Thon (one half of production duo Radioclit), the two bonded over a shared passion for Paul Simon and Michael Jackson records from the '80s.
Soon Mwamwaya was a frequent visitor to Radioclit's studio - conveniently located on the same London street - where, along with his partner Johann Karlberg, Thon began feeding Mwamwaya tracks and beats for him to sing over. The result was one of the hottest indie blog sensations of 2007, and a subsequent mixtape called Esau Mwamwaya And Radioclit Are The Very Best, (released on CD by Green Owl in 2008).
The mixtape was a brilliant mashup of global pop and indie rock which showcased Mwamwaya's joyous Chichewa-language vocals over tracks and samples from Michael Jackson, M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture In Helsinki, The Beatles, Ruby Suns and more (Seriously - it was by far the best remix of MJ's Free Willy theme ever). What's more, they managed to score collaborations with like-minded artists including Vampire Weekend, BLK JKS, Santigold and M.I.A. (Maya Arulpragasm) herself.
If that project made the group an Indie darling - and a fixture on the summer festival circuit - then their latest record, released this month, has the potential to make them stars. Unlike the mixtape, the beats and music on The Warm Heart of Africa are strictly the group's own (with the exception of the title track, a holdover from the mixtape), but the sound and vision remain intact.
We took the opportunity of the new record's release to catch up with Mwamwaya by phone from London.
•So tell me how you first hooked up with the guys from Radioclit.
Esau Mwamwaya: I was working in a secondhand shop in London and Etienne [Tron] was one of my customers. He came in looking for a bicycle, and he asked me how was my business and so we started talking. He told me that he was a producer, with a studio on the same road in Homerton--which used to be part of Hackney. So I told him that I was a musician, too and he invited me to come out to a concert and meet his partner Johann [Karlberg]. We went out that night and then I went by their studio and we started recording the next day.
•So what happened next?
We just started by recording casually. He used to give me tracks to sing over, and I selected the ones that suit me - not every track suited me! So I put new lyrics over the tracks in my language, Chichewa, and after two or three tracks, we knew we had something good and wanted to make a real project. That's when we made the mixtape.
•What's working with Etienne and Johann like for you?
Everything between us comes very nicely and easily, with good communication. I always like Radioclit's approach - when it comes to music there are no limitations and no boundaries, just feelings, and feelings are the only truth. We had that approach in common from the start. So success came very naturally, based on that relationship. Everything goes on very well between us.
•Tell me about the new record.
Oh my God! I like this record very much. It's more about me. It's very personal. And this time we use all our own beats. No more sampling. I can't wait for it to come out. I love it more than anything.
•The Very Best Mixtape was so full of samples that I couldn't believe you guys could release any of it - even informally?
Yes. We were worried about that, too. But many of the artists who contributed understand what we are doing, and even came back to help with this record. Like Ezra [Koening] and Maya [Arulpragasm]. In music collaboration with other artists is so important. No man is an island and you can't do everything all by yourself.
•What's your working process like?
Normally Etienne and Johann bring the beats and tracks to me first, and I sing over them, and then I get ideas and write them down, and then we add those in.
•What kind of things do you write about?
I sing about life, poetry, nature. I sing about my tribe in one of my songs called "Angonde". In my tribe if somebody dies, you bury them at the back of the house. I try to explain how what my tribe does and how we live.
There's another song, "Kilombo" - it's about HIV/AIDS and encouraging people to fight against it. When I went to Malawi just now I saw a lot of people didn't take it seriously enough. But so many people are dying in way that we don't see here [in the West].
•Because the medications are hard to get?
Yes. They are still very expensive in Africa. But the other problem is that people don't take it seriously! Anyway, one way of fighting AIDS is just to make people aware.
•Tell me a little about the title track?
"Warm Heart of Africa" is actually an official slogan for tourists, to get them to come to Malawi. The country is promoted as one of the most peaceful countries in Southern Africa - with no problems, political or other? but it's really true! [laughs] This is what the song is about? If you ever come to Malawi you will have no trouble? people there are very easy!
•Do you miss it?
Of course! But not so much now as when I first came to London. I left Malawi in 1999, when I was 24, and I worked on a building site in London for six years. It was a lonely time and I missed my family a lot.
•What's your family like?
Very big! I am from a family of ten children. I'm number five - right in the middle! My father is a civil servant, so we were not rich and not poor. We always lived comfortably. I have a very lovely family?
•You were a musician in Malawi, too, right?
Yes. When I was in school I liked many things - martial arts, football - music was just one thing. But as I got older I was so much more into music than anything else. After high school I started playing drums and singing in some local bands.
•What kind of music did you play?
A lot of different things - many cover songs and some traditional songs. A lot of reggae, too. I love reggae, especially the singers like Ken Boothe and Gregory Issacs.
I was actually exposed to a lot of different kinds of music growing up. Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, we had all of that on the radio. That's why working with Radioclit is no surprise for me.
•How would you describe the music you make with Radioclit?
I am African, so it's African music, right? [laughs]
•Have you been back to Malawi lately?
Yes, I was just there recently! I saw my family and many friends - it was very hard to leave again. My wife is there right now, and she's going to have a baby very soon!
Congratulations!
Thank you.
•So are your friends and family surprised by your musical success?
Maybe a little. But people in Malawi know about The Very Best even though they never heard us on the radio. They know that there is a Malawian who is getting famous in the West! My family like it very much, but [they] don't let my head get big. They like to remind me that I'm not the greatest artist in Malawi. [laughs]
•Who is?
[laughs] Wow! I don't know! There are so many great musicians, but they're just not promoted internationally. It's just a matter of exposure. We have so artists and so many styles - pop, reggae, rap, jazz and if you want traditional music, we have that, too. If you want traditional music from Malawi, you need to go there and hear it! National Geographic should come to Malawi - I'm inviting you personally. I guarantee that you will like it very much!