Episode 33 - Malawian Madalitso, Vampire Vamps & Sofa Songs
In this Genre Tombola episode, Steve Pretty moves from farting on the sofa to field recording in Malawi. It’s an exploration of how playfulness, imperfection and curiosity feed musical invention — from childish glee to global grooves.
Clip ’n Mix: Sofa Songs & Playfulness
A discussion of farting on the sofa becomes a meditation on musical play. Steve uses the absurd to remind us that experimentation — whether with instruments, sounds or bodily noises — is the heart of creativity. As adults we learn to censor that instinct; music gives us a way back to it.
Improvisation & Evolution: Scoring Nosferatu
Steve reflects on his live, one-take score for F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, performed using the SOMA Cosmos and Beetlecrab Tempera. It’s a study in constraint and atmosphere, exploring how sound design and spontaneity can animate silent film.
Genre Tombola: Madalitso Band (Lilongwe, Malawi)
Finally, at WOMEX 2024, Steve meets Yobu Maligwa and Joseph Chilumanya — two street musicians from Lilongwe whose handmade instruments and irresistible rhythms have carried Malawian folk onto global stages. Their joyful minimalism embodies the show’s theme: making something extraordinary out of almost nothing.
Support & extras: Patreon · Newsletter · Universe of Music
Full Transcript
Verbatim transcript from the episode, included in full for accessibility and search. No edits have been made.
00:00:06:12 - 00:00:17:21
Speaker 1
Hello, my name is Steve Pretty. I'm a musician, composer and performer from London. And welcome to my podcast, Steve Pretty on the origin of the pieces.
00:00:17:23 - 00:00:25:06
Speaker 1
This is the show that helps you to hear, understand and enjoy music in new ways.
00:00:25:08 - 00:00:32:14
Speaker 1
Hello musically curious people back again and this time sounding different for lots of reasons. Firstly, I'm not recording this in-studio.
00:00:32:16 - 00:00:45:08
Speaker 2
I'm recording this while I'm away with the kids for half term, and so you might be able to hear some seagulls in the background. I'm looking out over a very, very blustery North Sea. So apologies if the sound is a bit different from normal.
00:00:45:10 - 00:00:54:15
Speaker 1
But the other thing, of course, is different from normal is that the theme tune is no longer here. And the backstory to that, is that you may have heard the episode 32.
00:00:54:15 - 00:00:55:13
Speaker 2
If you listen to that one.
00:00:55:13 - 00:00:57:08
Speaker 1
When I first uploaded it.
00:00:57:10 - 00:01:17:05
Speaker 2
The normal theme tune is on it. But then very quickly, Spotify and their wisdom decided to take it down because they said, that you need to contact the copyright holder to check if you can use this music. And I did contact the copyright holder because the copyright holder is me, and I checked if I could use the music as I have done for the last 32 episodes.
00:01:17:07 - 00:01:20:23
Speaker 2
And the answer I gave myself was yes, I could use the music.
00:01:21:00 - 00:01:22:07
Speaker 1
But still.
00:01:22:09 - 00:01:38:01
Speaker 2
Nevertheless, here we are. It's still down and I still can't use it, so I can't risk, doing that until I sort some stuff out with Spotify and with YouTube and with, the distributors of the song and blah, blah. Anyway, it's very boring. And I'm in the process of sorting that out. But.
00:01:38:01 - 00:01:39:01
Speaker 1
You may have heard.
00:01:39:03 - 00:01:52:08
Speaker 2
An uploaded, re-uploaded version, of that episode where I decided to in about five minutes, I chucked together, a solo vocal version of me trying to sing the theme with myself in most parts.
00:01:52:14 - 00:01:54:16
Speaker 1
Which didn't sound great. It sounds like this.
00:01:54:18 - 00:02:11:07
Speaker 1
Podcasting führte Copyright streng ignorierte Copyright. Oh, jetzt eine schöne Zeit getarnt vom Deutschlandfunk ins Löschen legen. So war so jetzt mal was dem seine Copyright scheint.
00:02:11:09 - 00:02:13:00
Speaker 2
Noch.
00:02:13:02 - 00:02:16:21
Speaker 1
Auf orgiastisch sein darf. Warum sind sie Nation, Die.
00:02:16:23 - 00:02:26:17
Speaker 2
Barbarei Barbarei so sie ist. Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang,
00:02:26:19 - 00:02:27:21
Speaker 1
So that was just something I did.
00:02:28:01 - 00:02:33:01
Speaker 2
Just as a kind of stopgap. But obviously that's not a long term solution. And so.
00:02:33:01 - 00:02:34:15
Speaker 1
Instead we have this, new.
00:02:34:16 - 00:02:36:05
Speaker 2
Theme song today, and.
00:02:36:05 - 00:02:38:21
Speaker 1
In fact, this is a tune that feels appropriate.
00:02:38:21 - 00:02:45:24
Speaker 2
For the show because it was written by my two and a half year old daughter. She was turned off at the time, she's much older now, but.
00:02:46:01 - 00:02:48:11
Speaker 1
She did this by improvising.
00:02:48:11 - 00:03:07:12
Speaker 2
Some music, and I felt like it it kind of was appropriate, for this show, which is about trying to understand music in new ways, trying to reconnect with our inner musicianship, whether or not we're trained musicians. And I thought there's something really kind of pure and interesting and fun about my two. And a half year old daughter improvising this song.
00:03:07:12 - 00:03:09:20
Speaker 1
Now, she's not some sort of musical prodigy.
00:03:09:21 - 00:03:18:21
Speaker 2
She's not, you know, some sort of genius who can just come up with melodies off the top of her head and arrange tunes for for bands and drums and all the rest of it.
00:03:18:23 - 00:03:20:19
Speaker 1
Instead, what it was was that she was sitting on a.
00:03:20:19 - 00:03:26:08
Speaker 2
Sofa and, well, actually, let me just play you the original clip that this came from.
00:03:26:10 - 00:03:35:06
Speaker 1
On the Senate floor. And on this end. When I first came on.
00:03:35:08 - 00:03:48:14
Speaker 1
I started on stage. Reflecting on this day. So. Well, I. I'm not so sure.
00:03:48:16 - 00:03:51:18
Speaker 1
Yeah. So she was farting on the sofa. She was sat on.
00:03:51:18 - 00:03:55:08
Speaker 2
The sofa, she was farting on the sofa, and she decided.
00:03:55:08 - 00:04:00:00
Speaker 1
To sing about her experiences. We all sing about what we know, right? It's how the great songs are written.
00:04:00:02 - 00:04:04:11
Speaker 2
And she wrote her first song by sitting on a sofa farting.
00:04:04:13 - 00:04:08:07
Speaker 1
And telling the world about it. So I recorded it, and then I just.
00:04:08:07 - 00:04:29:02
Speaker 2
Thought it was really fun and, quite sweet, but also said something quite sort of profound in a way, about how we think about music, because as we, come into adulthood or even late adolescence, we stop playing around with music unless we're studying it formally. We're discouraged from, you know, playing around. And, using our imagination or just exploring sonics.
00:04:29:04 - 00:04:30:01
Speaker 1
Episode 32.
00:04:30:01 - 00:04:46:13
Speaker 2
One of the things I dealt with was, sampling this fire pit using the Ableton Note app by the way. Sorry, quick aside, that app I said was free. It's not free. It is actually, I think now it's about 8.99 pounds. I think it was free when I got it, or maybe cheaper, but still it's very it's a great app.
00:04:46:13 - 00:04:53:15
Speaker 2
There's lots of other free apps or cheap apps. The point remains that we use our phones all the time to take photos, take videos, but.
00:04:53:15 - 00:04:55:00
Speaker 1
We don't do that with.
00:04:55:00 - 00:05:13:16
Speaker 2
Sound so much. So yeah, I encourage you once again to go out there and record things around you that are interesting, whether it's your kids sing a song about farting on the sofa or, you know, squeaky door or whatever, and then see what you can do. You know, you put filters on photos. You must mess around with editing videos a lot of people do on their phones.
00:05:13:16 - 00:05:15:13
Speaker 2
So why don't we do that with sound as well?
00:05:15:15 - 00:05:18:10
Speaker 1
Anyway, so I was sampling that fire pit and again, just.
00:05:18:10 - 00:05:27:12
Speaker 2
Encouraging people to have this playful approach to understanding the sound around us and thinking about it musically. Maybe just with a.
00:05:27:12 - 00:05:28:02
Speaker 1
Little rhythm.
00:05:28:02 - 00:05:29:15
Speaker 2
Maybe with the tune.
00:05:29:17 - 00:05:33:05
Speaker 1
So it felt kind of appropriate. And I then once I.
00:05:33:07 - 00:05:46:05
Speaker 2
Recorded this, I decided to transcribe it. Now, what that means is, going through and basically listening to the notes that she's singing, writing them down and, you know, kind of putting it on a piece of sheet music that I can then do other things with.
00:05:46:09 - 00:05:47:07
Speaker 1
And the other thing I did with.
00:05:47:07 - 00:06:03:18
Speaker 2
That, at the time this was in 2019, was that I transcribed that and wrote an arrangement for a full band, which we played at the Hammersmith Apollo in front of 3500 people. When I was doing a show there for, for Brian Cox and Robin Ince in 2019.
00:06:03:20 - 00:06:04:08
Speaker 1
This is what it.
00:06:04:08 - 00:06:06:07
Speaker 2
Sounds like, that performance.
00:06:06:09 - 00:06:14:13
Unknown
On the see some? Yeah. That's all.
00:06:14:15 - 00:06:18:22
Unknown
I said. I guess it's good.
00:06:18:24 - 00:06:35:10
Speaker 2
It's quite fun stuff. So. Yeah. What about utilizing resistance to it? So I figured we might have a little jam in Country Road. I basically just wanted to play. So, like, it takes about 20 years to come. Yeah. You made your husband a public debut at the age of three. So here we go.
00:06:35:12 - 00:07:03:13
Unknown
We're going to get ready for this sun. He's been on the drums and I. Then I started. I guess I'm gonna sing for some. It's a surprise. This is just from the chambers. I was like, stay on the seat.
00:07:03:15 - 00:07:24:11
Unknown
I'm success on trombone. I was like, I said, let's get this other. Great. Yeah, I'm gonna see. All right. We're at the. All right. You bring me. Good day. Okay. We got something.
00:07:24:14 - 00:07:45:00
Speaker 2
We got something. I can give you something going here. Now, this is what. This is a physical exercise. We've got a lot of people, about 3000 people in you. So you keep your voice. So we've gone through the lyrics, right? And so, you know, them being quite easy to remember, hopefully is less complicated for any of you. He's going to keep the sheet music.
00:07:45:02 - 00:07:56:18
Speaker 2
It's, maybe I will. I think so. So just, just just put it on the place. And if you're thinking. That doesn't reflect my vocal range, I know. Yeah. So.
00:07:56:20 - 00:08:35:22
Unknown
Yeah. So please feel free to sing along. Here we go. I'm gonna say I'm putting all this stuff up. I'm putting on the stars for my party, on my soul. In your. On your face. And you have to. Because this look like a consciousness up. Here we go. Yes. And I want to also find out for you all the songs that I'm focusing on, the summer months from 20 oh so far.
00:08:35:24 - 00:08:46:09
Unknown
Right. That's all going to say to me. I'm just like, using my hands. I.
00:08:46:11 - 00:08:56:12
Unknown
Dance, you know? Thank you very much. My name is Steve Postman. Thank you very much.
00:08:56:14 - 00:09:02:11
Speaker 1
And off the back of that, performance, I then was putting together a podcast over lockdown called House music.
00:09:02:16 - 00:09:13:16
Speaker 2
You can still listen to it is about using everyday objects in your house to make, you can sort of learn about music and make some basic music, which was really fun. I think it's still available. Go and check it out.
00:09:13:18 - 00:09:15:07
Speaker 1
And for that, for that show.
00:09:15:07 - 00:09:32:24
Speaker 2
I used farting on the sofa as the theme tune. And so that's why I've now reprised it, if you like, have now brought it back for this show. So there's stopgap theme music for this show is farting on the sofa. The instrumental version. So I hope that's all right in the you enjoy it.
00:09:33:01 - 00:09:35:23
Speaker 1
Anyway, once again, last episode, I did.
00:09:35:23 - 00:09:37:13
Speaker 2
Talk about the, the sampling of.
00:09:37:13 - 00:09:38:02
Speaker 1
The fire pit.
00:09:38:02 - 00:09:52:07
Speaker 2
Which was great fun. And episode 32, you can go back again. When I uploaded it, I think it was maybe a bit long to start with some of the sampling stuff, so I trimmed it. So it's a slightly shorter version. If you want to go listen to episode 32 re upload.
00:09:52:09 - 00:09:56:15
Speaker 1
But I also spoke to, Jesse Senator about,
00:09:56:17 - 00:10:10:04
Speaker 2
Tina's the flamenco genre. So I thought really, really fun and interesting interview. I think about the origins of flamenco music and solo vocal performances in flamenco and much else. So do you go back and check that out?
00:10:10:06 - 00:10:18:19
Speaker 1
Yes. So on with today's show. Well, alongside the new theme tune, it is. I'm recording this the week of Halloween.
00:10:18:22 - 00:10:22:08
Speaker 2
I don't tend to do particularly date themed episodes, but.
00:10:22:08 - 00:10:23:16
Speaker 1
Since earlier in the year.
00:10:23:17 - 00:10:42:08
Speaker 2
I had the chance to live score to a live improvised score for the 1922 version of Nosferatu. Kind of original vampire movie, if you like. I did that. I also festival, which is great fun, and I just put the whole thing on YouTube. You can go to my YouTube channel, youtube.com/steve Pretty and watch the whole thing.
00:10:42:10 - 00:10:46:11
Speaker 1
Really, really enjoyed doing it. I did everything completely live.
00:10:46:13 - 00:11:11:06
Speaker 2
And then manipulated with some electronics. And do get in touch with me or join my Patreon if you want to find out more about that set up. Really enjoy putting that setup together. It's quite elaborate, but very, very powerful. It allows me to take the smallest of sounds and kind of magnify them out. So of course this is to accompany a silent film, but I thought I would just start the episode with a bit of music, for Halloween, a bit of spooky music, a bit of sound design.
00:11:11:08 - 00:11:39:19
Speaker 2
Here is a little excerpt of my, 1.5 hour long improvised score to 1922 Nosferatu.
00:11:39:21 - 00:12:29:00
Unknown
From.
00:12:29:02 - 00:12:33:03
Unknown
I.
00:12:33:05 - 00:12:37:11
Unknown
Don't.
00:12:37:13 - 00:12:46:00
Unknown
Do.
00:12:46:02 - 00:12:51:02
Unknown
Do.
00:12:51:04 - 00:13:05:01
Unknown
You do. You.
00:13:05:03 - 00:13:07:13
Speaker 1
I hope you enjoyed that little bit of spooky.
00:13:07:13 - 00:13:19:04
Speaker 2
Eerie music for you. Really, really enjoyed putting that together and would love to do it more. So if you know anywhere that would like a silent film screening with a live score, played by me, please do.
00:13:19:04 - 00:13:19:20
Speaker 1
Get in touch.
00:13:19:24 - 00:13:21:21
Speaker 2
It's podcast at Steve for t.com.
00:13:21:23 - 00:13:30:05
Speaker 1
Podcast at Steve. Pretty.com.
00:13:30:07 - 00:13:33:24
Speaker 1
So the main interview I have on today's show is with a fantastic band.
00:13:33:24 - 00:13:36:21
Speaker 2
Who I spoke to at Womack's. Now Womack's is a kind of.
00:13:36:21 - 00:13:38:23
Speaker 1
World music trade fair, if you.
00:13:38:23 - 00:13:46:15
Speaker 2
Like, kind of expo and halfway between a kind of conference and, a festival, I suppose, loads of incredible live music.
00:13:46:17 - 00:13:47:08
Speaker 1
I'm actually just.
00:13:47:08 - 00:14:08:19
Speaker 2
Back from the 2025 version of Womack's, which was over in Finland. So lots more really great interviews and beautiful music coming from that. From that this year, to come in the next few weeks and months. But actually what I'm going to do today is play an interview that I did back in 2024. I saw this incredible gig by a band, from Malawi called The Man of Lit.
00:14:08:20 - 00:14:16:05
Speaker 2
So band, really amazing duo. And they play these homemade instruments which they're going to talk about on, on here.
00:14:16:09 - 00:14:18:15
Speaker 1
But this is a kind of genre tombola.
00:14:18:15 - 00:14:19:20
Speaker 2
Special, if you like,
00:14:19:20 - 00:14:36:19
Speaker 2
on Malawi and folk music. So here I am in conversation with a mother Lizzo band who had had a very grueling tour schedule and very kindly fitted me into this interview. But you can hear possibly, and see that they're a bit tired. So, Yeah. But thank you once again to the Mother Lizzo band.
00:14:36:21 - 00:14:38:20
Speaker 1
They play Glastonbury this year.
00:14:38:20 - 00:14:50:18
Speaker 2
They do all sorts of gigs. They do lots of touring. I'm sure they've got lots of stuff coming up. So do check out the Mother Lizzo band.
00:14:50:20 - 00:14:55:05
Speaker 1
Viver.
00:14:55:07 - 00:15:05:14
Unknown
E em vez de perder tempo, despender do meu tempo. Eu sou.
00:15:05:16 - 00:15:09:06
Unknown
A janela dele.
00:15:09:08 - 00:15:24:03
Unknown
Quem manda me atender? O meu amor está na mira de Deus. Por Ele, o amado não vê.
00:15:24:05 - 00:15:27:18
Speaker 1
É a minha vez de te amar.
00:15:27:20 - 00:15:32:20
Speaker 2
Then the name of the band you from. So band from Malawi?
00:15:32:22 - 00:15:34:05
Speaker 3
Yeah. What's your name?
00:15:34:07 - 00:15:35:19
Speaker 2
It's me. My name is yob.
00:15:36:00 - 00:15:43:06
Speaker 3
You've okay? My name is Joseph. Joseph Lieberman.
00:15:43:08 - 00:15:47:02
Speaker 2
May I playing Barbara?
00:15:47:04 - 00:15:50:05
Speaker 3
Guitar and drum. Yeah.
00:15:50:07 - 00:16:08:05
Speaker 1
I saw the show yesterday. Fantastic. Thank you very much for bringing it over here. A long way to come for this one. So thank you for coming. Thank you. Wonderful. Music. I just want to talk a little bit about, how you started playing this music together, how you met, maybe,
00:16:08:07 - 00:16:26:16
Speaker 2
In a number I think is each I think my 20 years, a 25 years ago. You know, remember what you, we remember we don't I mean a long way down reasonably to me. We began in
00:16:26:18 - 00:16:29:10
Speaker 1
Fantastic. And how did you learn these
00:16:29:15 - 00:16:30:17
Speaker 1
instruments you,
00:16:30:19 - 00:16:33:20
Speaker 1
had a teacher or you you taught yourself or.
00:16:33:22 - 00:16:37:13
Speaker 2
You know, a teacher now. Okay. Yeah.
00:16:37:14 - 00:16:39:08
Speaker 3
Yeah, I teach it. Just learn by ourselves.
00:16:39:13 - 00:16:41:18
Speaker 2
Represent, you know. Moto.
00:16:41:20 - 00:16:42:12
Speaker 3
Working our brain.
00:16:42:13 - 00:16:45:05
Speaker 1
Yeah. From listening to other music as well.
00:16:45:07 - 00:16:50:08
Speaker 2
Yeah. In the evenings and in this song and
00:16:50:10 - 00:16:50:19
Speaker 3
00:16:50:21 - 00:17:11:16
Speaker 2
No you hear I think. And by the way I see commercial minimal. What I mean and what we've seen was an alala. Yeah. Jazz charity. I sometimes in my thinking when I'm minus.
00:17:11:16 - 00:17:20:24
Speaker 1
the guitar. This this is also you taught yourself or you, have, again learned from other from being taught by someone else.
00:17:21:01 - 00:17:26:16
Speaker 3
Lesser what happens weren't we know that they know. God.
00:17:26:18 - 00:17:29:21
Speaker 4
Listening to by.
00:17:29:23 - 00:17:50:07
Speaker 4
Now but I I'm, I'm going to learn how you know 15 day without incident. You know I won't solo, I'm going to pick and then I was engaging I was a Grammy and what I am is in mind. And now we're moving back and point and I won't I. And they can take a bus.
00:17:50:09 - 00:18:00:00
Speaker 3
To a job. I like my first guitar. And there was an man who showed me how to build it. So we built it like and but from there,
00:18:00:02 - 00:18:10:02
Speaker 3
Yeah. But we kept the tuning, that we original tuning. So the full strings, but we use like a whole guitar. Guitar we bought.
00:18:10:07 - 00:18:12:09
Speaker 1
Okay, I see, but. Right. But we still we for strings.
00:18:12:12 - 00:18:19:23
Speaker 3
not, we change the the strings to our own strings. And wires, which is from the motorcycles, brake cables breaking.
00:18:20:00 - 00:18:22:18
Speaker 1
Really? And this they came for your, your fantastic.
00:18:22:18 - 00:18:24:03
Speaker 3
Kitchenware. Yeah.
00:18:24:05 - 00:18:31:03
Speaker 2
Yeah. Breaking. The the tire. Okay. It's like.
00:18:31:03 - 00:18:32:03
Speaker 3
Yeah. When you cut in.
00:18:32:03 - 00:18:33:08
Speaker 2
Such a new thing.
00:18:33:10 - 00:18:39:15
Speaker 1
That's what this is. What? This. Yeah. How do you replace this if you need to replace it when you.
00:18:39:15 - 00:18:42:21
Speaker 3
And so when you do music with Amazon Music at all.
00:18:42:23 - 00:18:45:24
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. The books bags and the glasses.
00:18:45:24 - 00:18:49:18
Speaker 3
Spare strength. Lots of space and spare picks.
00:18:49:20 - 00:18:56:10
Speaker 2
Yeah. That's because they have a plastic plastic bag. But of medicine. Yeah.
00:18:56:12 - 00:18:57:03
Speaker 1
For the slide.
00:18:57:05 - 00:18:59:17
Speaker 2
Yeah. But the medicine. Yeah, yeah.
00:18:59:19 - 00:19:05:05
Speaker 1
Maybe could you tell me a little bit more about the baby? So this is something. Did you make it yourself? Yeah.
00:19:05:06 - 00:19:09:00
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yes. Make it together, my friend.
00:19:09:02 - 00:19:10:22
Speaker 3
Other people clap every time.
00:19:10:24 - 00:19:13:05
Speaker 2
You know, sometimes. Many years ago.
00:19:13:07 - 00:19:20:15
Speaker 3
It's like you are not quite famous now or popular that play by Britain that we know about especially longer hair.
00:19:20:17 - 00:19:21:12
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah.
00:19:21:17 - 00:19:35:09
Speaker 3
But in the villages. Comment flip. Other time. But it's not, there's no rules for how to build it up a tent. You can build it with three strings or one string or play with a stick or play with the pig. So some up for upright or sitting.
00:19:35:11 - 00:19:42:04
Speaker 1
Yeah. And it has the role and your band of the base. Right. You place the base instrument in the, in the band.
00:19:42:06 - 00:19:46:07
Speaker 1
is it always that, the playing the bass role, do you have a higher baritone
00:19:46:09 - 00:19:47:17
Speaker 1
as well?
00:19:47:19 - 00:19:54:13
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah. Come. Yeah.
00:19:54:15 - 00:19:58:24
Speaker 3
Okay I did that's a complicated question to us.
00:19:59:01 - 00:20:01:09
Speaker 2
I'm Arjun Singh, the.
00:20:01:11 - 00:20:13:07
Speaker 3
Intelligence head of a tournament. Panga sound. Yeah, yeah. Baritone, like, tenor in a tone, by the ampersand, soprano cup. And it'll save up a ton of money by, like.
00:20:13:09 - 00:20:17:13
Speaker 2
Baba, Yeah. Ali baba.
00:20:17:15 - 00:20:18:01
Speaker 3
Baba.
00:20:18:01 - 00:20:21:00
Speaker 2
Yeah. Well, you name again because I said.
00:20:21:02 - 00:20:22:11
Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah, I play up this.
00:20:22:14 - 00:20:26:16
Speaker 1
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah. Because you can play high on here on here as well. But it's very large.
00:20:26:16 - 00:20:32:00
Speaker 2
So yeah, he's I think easy like quite different of course.
00:20:32:02 - 00:20:40:14
Speaker 3
mouth bass. Yeah. Well, song. Yeah. We have a button in the best and.
00:20:40:19 - 00:20:44:16
Speaker 2
Best, like a minute in and it's okay. And. But. Yeah. Anything.
00:20:44:18 - 00:20:55:18
Speaker 1
I just want to talk a little bit about the role of music. This music that you make in, in Malawi when it started, you playing on the street, is that right? You started by playing on the street?
00:20:55:18 - 00:20:55:22
Speaker 2
That.
00:20:55:24 - 00:20:59:17
Speaker 2
Yeah. Hello. And you make a team markets. Markets.
00:20:59:17 - 00:21:03:22
Speaker 1
And so this is, busking for, for money or for just for.
00:21:04:03 - 00:21:11:12
Speaker 2
The, Oh, yes. Yeah. Boldly and no to one when your song is I think,
00:21:11:14 - 00:21:13:09
Speaker 2
know, 50, 50.
00:21:13:11 - 00:21:14:18
Speaker 1
50 someone.
00:21:14:20 - 00:21:17:07
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:21:17:09 - 00:21:18:00
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:21:18:02 - 00:21:23:18
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. So how much for song play for for a song. Yeah.
00:21:23:22 - 00:21:25:16
Speaker 3
So looking around somebody can ask.
00:21:25:18 - 00:21:28:16
Speaker 2
Yeah. Okay guys how come it's often.
00:21:28:16 - 00:21:31:08
Speaker 3
Yeah. How much is a song. Okay. So. Okay. Yeah. Okay.
00:21:31:10 - 00:21:35:17
Speaker 1
So you walking. This is a mobile set up. You walk through the market and then someone pays you.
00:21:35:18 - 00:21:36:12
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:36:16 - 00:21:37:15
Speaker 3
For the hotel.
00:21:37:17 - 00:21:42:13
Speaker 2
The whole town. Yeah. And marketing and villages.
00:21:42:15 - 00:21:46:04
Speaker 1
Yeah. It's like a kind of minstrel, you know, sort of traveling. Traveling musicians.
00:21:46:04 - 00:21:47:03
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:21:47:05 - 00:21:55:05
Speaker 3
And when you walk, it's like when you're walking. Yeah. It's like, how cool. But the composer.
00:21:55:07 - 00:21:56:03
Speaker 3
I mean.
00:21:56:05 - 00:22:12:00
Speaker 2
Yeah, I mean, I think you composer in any time is to compose somewhere else. Last month, you know, the recording of music is composing in a studio. Yeah, I remember.
00:22:12:02 - 00:22:14:07
Speaker 5
Yeah. Okay.
00:22:14:09 - 00:22:17:20
Speaker 2
Five songs is compose in a study. Yeah.
00:22:17:22 - 00:22:19:18
Speaker 5
Okay.
00:22:19:20 - 00:22:33:12
Speaker 3
Yeah. But we're talking about, that I got recorded last week because I was saying to him, you used to write a lot of songs when you were walking around, but he said, also, we write sometimes just when we're sitting down. But you remember last week in the studio on the new album? Yeah, we made a person there on the spot.
00:22:33:12 - 00:22:36:09
Speaker 3
Right? Oh. So yeah. So yeah, it's fantastic.
00:22:36:11 - 00:22:50:02
Speaker 1
I just go to the, to the walking around, the villages in this way of, like when you sit down to play, what is the function that that music has to people. So listen to they dance.
00:22:50:04 - 00:23:01:19
Speaker 2
am a veena in, I'm, I'm a for some of also on the. I know, some know I'm about in my ballet in particular in marketing Latin
00:23:02:00 - 00:23:15:02
Speaker 1
And I know it's a difficult thing for a musician. I'm a musician myself, but it's difficult thing for a musician to define that music. But is there a particular, style or, that the way that you would describe it to other people who don't know this music?
00:23:15:04 - 00:23:15:15
Speaker 3
sound.
00:23:15:15 - 00:23:20:09
Speaker 2
Yeah. Dance, dance. Yeah. That's dance music.
00:23:20:11 - 00:23:27:23
Speaker 3
Lyrical content. Could be about love. Could be about life, could be about family. Things I said about the style. I said, that's fine.
00:23:28:04 - 00:23:38:24
Speaker 2
She's like a hitting song or hitting a dance. Wake up people is the seeking wake up made my disease out? Yeah.
00:23:39:01 - 00:23:43:13
Speaker 1
It's an important part of the dancing is this amazing drum.
00:23:43:18 - 00:23:48:23
Speaker 3
You play well my I move drum, drum. Yeah.
00:23:49:00 - 00:23:53:07
Speaker 1
It's really, it's really important part my sound. Right. The, the that that drum.
00:23:53:07 - 00:23:56:02
Speaker 3
It sounds to me so funny. Like a sound because,
00:23:56:04 - 00:24:08:00
Speaker 2
many years ago is not. No need to play guitar on guitar the same. No that baton did anyone guitar many years ago do my invention.
00:24:08:00 - 00:24:08:06
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:24:08:07 - 00:24:11:14
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:24:11:16 - 00:24:15:16
Speaker 1
It started without a drum, as you say. And you started just with the guitar. I said, so what you said in.
00:24:15:16 - 00:24:16:03
Speaker 3
The beginning.
00:24:16:03 - 00:24:20:18
Speaker 2
It. Yeah, many years ago. No guitar? No drum? No.
00:24:20:20 - 00:24:26:19
Speaker 1
And so you were just singing at that point. You were a guitar about how you said. I thought you said there was no. But I would tell you to start with or without.
00:24:26:24 - 00:24:29:05
Speaker 2
Yeah. No better than no drum. Yeah.
00:24:29:07 - 00:24:30:05
Speaker 3
Just guitar. Yeah.
00:24:30:11 - 00:24:32:08
Speaker 1
Just just a guitar. To sing.
00:24:32:08 - 00:24:34:04
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah yeah yeah.
00:24:34:09 - 00:24:37:00
Speaker 1
And your voices worked so well together. Wow.
00:24:37:02 - 00:24:41:07
Speaker 5
Wow.
00:24:41:09 - 00:24:46:04
Speaker 1
And, the drumming. This is. You made this drum yourself as well. So these instruments among us.
00:24:46:05 - 00:24:48:24
Speaker 3
So. Yeah. Oh my God.
00:24:49:01 - 00:24:49:15
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:24:49:17 - 00:24:51:11
Speaker 3
Among our about you.
00:24:51:11 - 00:24:53:04
Speaker 4
All about the skin guys.
00:24:53:06 - 00:24:56:04
Speaker 2
And, Mariani.
00:24:56:06 - 00:25:02:21
Speaker 3
Cooking but yeah yeah, yeah. Like cut cut cut off and then some skin around. Yeah, yeah.
00:25:02:23 - 00:25:06:15
Speaker 1
Have you been through a few of these different, It's right. Yeah. It's different.
00:25:06:15 - 00:25:09:00
Speaker 3
You have its own it. But but that have to it.
00:25:09:02 - 00:25:11:01
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:25:11:03 - 00:25:15:01
Speaker 3
My drum I'm going the second drum. But it's just that by the.
00:25:15:01 - 00:25:18:12
Speaker 1
Time and have they, have you improve them as each time where you just need.
00:25:18:12 - 00:25:19:04
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:19:04 - 00:25:19:13
Speaker 3
It's like
00:25:19:14 - 00:25:29:23
Speaker 3
Yes. Every time is like better. Because the, the first one had, the body was, like, cooking oil or plastic. You know.
00:25:30:03 - 00:25:32:10
Speaker 1
Oh yeah. Yeah. I think.
00:25:32:12 - 00:25:41:03
Speaker 3
And then the second one was good one for Zanzibar. Yeah. And then this new one is like the resonating box. Oh, yeah.
00:25:41:05 - 00:25:42:16
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:25:42:18 - 00:26:00:00
Speaker 1
It's very love. I forgot, actually, to just ask you to describe because people will be listening. So they may not have seen this before. Could we, could you just describe what this instrument is? People who know guitar people know, John. But could you describe how this instrument looks? And, and. Yeah, like, we can hear how it sounds, of course, but.
00:26:00:02 - 00:26:07:14
Speaker 2
Barberton name. This is more demeaning. See, I sent you to one. I mean.
00:26:07:16 - 00:26:09:18
Speaker 3
No, it was like a Monique. The one.
00:26:09:20 - 00:26:14:12
Speaker 2
Okay. She. Monica Barberini. Monica. Yeah. You to an indie.
00:26:14:12 - 00:26:27:12
Speaker 1
Okay I have one last question. I know you're very busy. You need to go. And thank you for spending the time but the the last question is something I ask everyone I interview, and that is, what is the point of music?
00:26:27:14 - 00:26:40:13
Speaker 2
Limbo is like changing of life for people to give you the sense to. Yeah, cuz center was in turmoil.
00:26:40:14 - 00:26:42:12
Speaker 3
Want to change the life of people?
00:26:42:13 - 00:26:53:14
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah. My little emotional moment when I saw Lena Webber. Come on. I remember my little.
00:26:53:16 - 00:26:54:09
Speaker 3
You know, link to.
00:26:54:10 - 00:26:55:01
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:26:55:03 - 00:26:58:22
Speaker 3
Yeah. Change people's life sense.
00:26:58:24 - 00:27:09:08
Speaker 1
And how does it feel having come from, playing in the streets of Malawi to now being being used to live music to to other people around the world?
00:27:09:10 - 00:27:24:00
Speaker 2
You need to follow within and, below zero. Sorry for your loaded with a diamond focus. Okay, comma, I think I handedness when I was euphonium, procedure
00:27:24:01 - 00:27:24:11
Speaker 3
great.
00:27:24:13 - 00:27:27:02
Speaker 1
Thank you. Thank you so much, guys. I'll let you go, but thank you.
00:27:27:04 - 00:27:32:10
Speaker 2
Thank you.
00:27:32:12 - 00:27:55:22
Unknown
Tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto, tanto.
00:27:55:24 - 00:27:58:24
Unknown
Mais.
00:27:59:01 - 00:28:27:00
Unknown
Tanta gente, por tanto não. Deve ter perdendo tempo, perdendo, Perdendo tempo. Jogando dentro.
00:28:27:02 - 00:28:39:14
Unknown
De.
00:28:39:16 - 00:28:42:15
Unknown
E.
00:28:42:17 - 00:28:55:04
Unknown
Para ter a mulher real.
00:28:55:06 - 00:28:57:04
Unknown
A
00:28:57:06 - 00:28:59:10
Speaker 1
And my thanks once again to the Amazing Man Lizzo.
00:28:59:10 - 00:29:19:13
Speaker 2
Band for that, really lovely chat that we had back in 2024. Really, it's the music is like nothing I've heard before, really, and the setup they've got is so unique and it's incredible what they are able to do with just these two acoustic instruments. You know, two musicians playing acoustically. And yeah, it was really, really something.
00:29:19:13 - 00:29:25:11
Speaker 2
I really recommend checking them out if they're on tour near you or otherwise. You can check out their brilliant records.
00:29:25:13 - 00:29:32:08
Speaker 1
But I think that's about it for the show today. Thank you very much for tuning in. The theme tune I normally say is by Angelique.
00:29:32:08 - 00:29:45:14
Speaker 2
Kidjo and me and Hackney Colliery Band. That isn't the case today, not the case today, because it is just by my daughter and me. It's, farting on the sofa, of course. Not available anywhere else.
00:29:45:14 - 00:29:47:21
Speaker 1
Apart from here.
00:29:47:23 - 00:29:50:19
Speaker 1
If you've enjoyed the show once again, I do have a Patreon.
00:29:50:21 - 00:30:07:11
Speaker 2
So please do go over there and sign up 1 pound or 5 pounds a month. And you can get all sorts of extra bonus content. I wouldn't put up a lot of clips from the model. It's so band performance. This for this episode, amongst other things. Yeah. So go over to the Patreon. It's origin of the pieces.com.
00:30:07:11 - 00:30:10:19
Speaker 2
You can find all the stuff there or Patreon.com slash origin.
00:30:10:19 - 00:30:14:21
Speaker 1
Of the pieces. And yes, my new website. I've been teasing it for a long time.
00:30:14:21 - 00:30:24:08
Speaker 2
I'm really, really hoping to get it out before the next episode. So do go to origin of the pieces. Com and you can see all sorts of stuff happening there I hope.
00:30:24:10 - 00:30:28:10
Speaker 1
Meanwhile, thank you so much for listening again. You can sign up to the mailing list.
00:30:28:10 - 00:30:30:00
Speaker 2
You can sign up to the Patreon.
00:30:30:02 - 00:30:34:18
Speaker 1
Stay musically curious and I'll see you next time. Bye.