When it comes to Lubak and Akebulans, the next
step is having a well equipped studio and obtaining connections with those who have one and
take another step; make an album. “We don’t really own a studio yet but one of our members has
a room that he’s trying to turn into a studio.
Although it lacks some equipment, it’s a good
starting point,” Carlo says. And yet, against all
odds, The Akebulans have already started preparing their debut album. “The band has already
completed a series of compositions prepared by
one of its members, and there have been some
single releases, but no album so far. We’re still
looking for that perfect balance in the sound recording and mixing before releasing an album,”
Carlo added. And as for Lubaks, since most of
them have a relatively well backed background,
two of the members have their own studio.
Spotting Opportunities
Grabbing all opportunities that come our way is
equally as important as knowing and being acquainted with our passion. By not letting go of
the opportunities that faith present to us, we can
gain new connections, a network to another door
that leads to many other doors. When it comes
to the music industry, getting the chance
to play with or open for famous artists is one
good opportunity. “We have opened for a PSquare concert in Addis before. That was by
far the best experience,” said Matias. “Well,
it’s hard to choose,” says Carlo, “but playing
as back-ups for Bitik’s New Album provided
by far the greatest exposure. A promotional
event at DH Geda that lasted 5 days also exposed us to lots of people with different tastes
in music.”
Challenges
One of the hardest parts of establishing a
new band is distinguishing a unique style that
attracts the audience in the midst of all the
existing competition. “We’re a multi-genre
band so we basically try to play any heartfelt piece that we can perform through our
current skills and equipment. At the moment
we have more of a semi-acoustic feel,” explains Carlo from The Akebulans. “We play
almost all types of music now. But we will start
specializing in Ethiopian and Ethiopian Scale
songs soon. It’s always better to keep it original,” Lubak’s Matias added.
Survival is another thing in question when one
follows his or her passion and depends solely
Zagol