Lessons from Moses Matovu

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WHAT’S UP!

Anyone who has had the chance to sit down, for even a few minutes, with the legendary Moses Matovu, the founder and leader of the Afrigo Band, knows that the man has a lot to say. He should, having been at the very centre of Uganda’s music industry for almost six decades. And that is what members of the Rotary Club of Lugogo-Mango Tree found out last week when he was featured as the guest speaker at their weekly meeting.

May is the Rotary Youth Month, so Matovu (who is also a Rotarian) was tasked with speaking about the opportunities and challenges that the youth face in the music industry. And boy, did he tell them.

“There are no shortcuts to being a good musician, no matter how talented you might be,” Matovu said.

“You have to put in the hard work, something the youth today do not seem to like very much.”

Talking about his experience in the music industry, he told the Rotarians how he started his music journey as a young boy in 1967, and how life was very different then. He said musicians were not held in high esteem then, so one had to be extremely disciplined and exhibit a high level of professionalism.

“These days, the youth don’t take the trouble to learn instruments like guitar, bass, piano, drums, saxophone, percussion or even congas,” Matovu said.

“Because of advances in technology, things have been made easy, and so they have become lazy.”

Matovu narrated how young people go for lessons in learning how to play, say, a saxophone; but after two weeks of instruction, they would not come back. Then, he would find them somewhere playing with a band, making mistakes throughout their playing. Anyone serious about music, he said, would leave immediately.

“The youth seem to be in a hurry, as if they are being chased,” the legend said.

“It takes time and a lot of effort to learn to play an instrument properly. And you have to continuously practice, not all the time, but you have to practice. I still practice, after all this time.”

Matovu also explained how different recording music was, then.

‘Those days’, before recording any music, they would spend months practicing and perfecting the music, because there was no room for mistakes when recording. The whole band would be in the studio, and if anyone made a mistake, they would have to go back to the beginning.

“Now, only one person in the studio can record a whole album, so things are a lot easier for musicians,” Matovu said.

“But that has meant that the quality of music produced has deteriorated, some of the songs being played are of really very poor quality.”

Matovu challenged today’s young musicians to be more professional in their attitude and approach to music; that way, they would get respect from society.

“Small things like keeping time make a difference,” he said.

“If you are to start performing at 8:00pm, start at 8:00pm, not at 10:00pm. You never know, a potential sponsor or patron might be there at 8:00pm to watch you perform. But if you don’t start on time, he might leave, and you miss out on an opportunity. He will also not take you seriously, whatever you do after that.”

Matovu decried today’s practice of musicians ‘morale boosting’ the audience.

“Why are you asking the audience to get excited?” Matovu asked.

“Let your music do the talking for you. If the music is good, the audience will definitely be excited and start dancing. If the music is lousy, no amount of ‘sibawulira’ will make them dance.”

He also beseeched young musicians to be humble and not have the ‘don’t you know me?’ attitude. He narrated how he has travelled all over the world, and found musicians much better than him, but who are humble and approachable.

“Why are you arrogant?” he asked.

“I have seen musicians fight, some claiming to be veterans and demanding to be respected. If you want to be respected, you have to respect yourself first. Nobody owes you anything.”

About politics, Matovu advised young musicians to stay out of it. He narrated how, after the overthrow of Obote in 1971, he composed a song, Twawona Kiviiri, referencing Obote’s hairstyle.

“But later, Kiviiri came back, and we had to hide,” he said.

“At times, it is not the politicians you sing about that are the problem, but the supporters, they can harm you or your families. Things change, so be careful.” 

(It is said that a musician, Simon Nsubuga, who wrote songs in praise of Obote was later killed by Idi Amin).

On his legacy, Matovu said as part of celebrations to mark Afrigo Band’s 50th anniversary, they will be launching the Afrigo Academy music school.

Matovu also revealed that next month, he will be celebrating his 76th birthday. “I will be 76 years old next month, but really, I have done nothing.”