Why Most Nigerian artists don't get international concerts - Vessels of Gold, Gospel Rock and R&B Sensation

The Vessels of Gold is a very focused, high rising five-man gospel band, with a bias for rock and R&B. Leader of the group, Isaiah Olumati,  speaks on a number of issues in the Nigerian music scene. He speaks out on why most Nigerian musicians may never succeed in the international stage.

Tell us about your group

Our group is a special one because we have instrumentalists and singers. Jubilee and Sharpman (his brothers) play the guitar and bass keyboard, I play the drums, but Emmanuel plays the drum more consistently while Steve Ude sings tenor.

Most Nigerian artists started as gospel singers or they sang in the choir before crossing over, why is this?

The Nigerian church gives everybody access to do what you can do, especially in the area of singing and instrumentation. If you want to learn how to play and instrument, even before we started having music schools, you can walk into a church, join the choir, if you are diligent, within a year you are an instrumentalist. The church has remained the best kick-off point for any musicians. Any artist who succeeds as a gospel artist - whether by making a CD or on a congregational level - can succeed very well as a secular musician.

Secular music in Nigeria, is less intelligent. You have artists repeating the same things over and over. It is ‘baby’, ‘bum-bum’, ‘We go to the bedroom’ etc. You need intelligence to make a gospel song. We have very few intelligent secular singers. The list includes Dare Art Alade, look at the content, volume and weight and idea in his song; Tuface, he is gifted with poetry and artistry, and Asa among others.

How far has your group gone?

We are still striving to get to the point of being self-sustaining because right now we are students and trying to joggle music and education. We tread softly so that we do not sacrifice one for the other. We have had to pull out from events because of education commitments. Right now we were supposed to be on tour, but it didn’t sit well with our academic careers.

You mean every member of the band is in school?

I am a final year geology student in the University of Port Harcourt; Sharp is a law student at the University of Calabar, Jubilee is at Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, studying engineering and the others are trying to gain admission into the university.

How do your parents feel about your musical ambition?

We do not have challenge in this regards, we have their support. My dad is a professional account and plays the acoustic guitar in the church, my mum also sings. We came to the world and found people around us singing and it is rubbing off.

Isaiah flanked by Steve and Emmanuel on the left Sharpman adn Jubilee on the right

What is unique about the group, VoG?

What makes us different is our individuality; we are not influenced by the vogue. We do what appeals to us as against what every other person or group is doing. Yet, we have achieved some form of recognition; we have been in concert with Sam Song, Frank Edward, Nosa , Nathaniel Bassey, and a number of some recognized groups. We are taking it one step at a time because every year the business is evolving and if you do not understand the business that could be detrimental.

What should your fans expect your album?

We are not in a hurry to release an album. We are looking at the end of next year (2013) to get the album out. We started off in 2009 and we have people calling to ask when is the album going to be out? For us, the most important thing is to have a successful album. A lot of people rush out their albums that flop.

We want our fans to be patient, sit back and wait. We have singles out because we believe that is important. It is a form of advertisement that tells our fan of what is in the offing. A single is for the artist what advertisement is for companies. We have about four singles but we are focusing on Narikele, which is an afro rock that samples a song by Frank Edward. It is a song that expresses thank to God.

People have asked us why we took snippets from Frank Edward, they said it is risky. But there is nothing wrong in ‘partnering’ with someone who already expressed what you want to express. Besides, most of the songs we hear today have gone through five, six singers, yet we celebrate them.

What is your advice for younger artists coming up?

I think we should be patient. Everybody should get one form of education or the other in other to be successful. We are moving to that point where skill without education may not be enough. You see most artists in Nigeria who are very successful in the local scene but cannot match that success on the international stage; they do not get concerts with big acts because they do not know the rudiments and business of music.

You say Nigeria n artists do not succeed at the international stage, why?

Nigerian music succeeds internationally, but the musicians playing on the international stage have not so successful because of the way their music is created. Most of them cannot just be played; they are very impossible combination. Most of them go to events with their soundtracks but fans in global concerts expect you to sing, not play CDs they have at home.

That is why you see Tuface, P-Square and others in high demand because they give you the raw materials. Most go on tour in the UK and play soundtracks. That is why they do not sell out because it is not interesting to listen to soundtracks.

Most of our artists are fantastic studio performers but not stage performers because they did not go through the music refining process.