00:00The saying goes that profits are honored, but not among their own people and family.
00:07Why is that so?
00:09Let's ask in Malawi where the local heroes of the Madalito band are still relatively unknown,
00:14even after six successful European tours and over 300 international appearances.
00:21So I think out there in Europe and the USA, people are really craving something authentic and natural and organic,
00:26and Madalito bring that, whereas back in Malawi, it is an organic and natural place,
00:30so people don't really notice them, they probably want something more modern.
00:33However, I think if people took notice to listen to the lyrics, they're so meaningful,
00:36and even the way they use the traditional instruments is quite unique.
00:39Their story started in 2002, when Yobu Malewa met Josefe Kalikene,
00:45strumming their homemade guitars in the streets of Le Longway, hoping to start a band.
00:56When we started out, life was hard. We didn't have a reliable source of income.
01:05We survived through peace work, and we would work in people's farms, and we were modding bricks.
01:10As for my friend here, he used to cut firewood at City Council and sell it.
01:15With that, we only had a day to bask and also do rehearsals.
01:19Despite our efforts on any type of work, we always ended up losing it.
01:28That's when we decided to focus on our God-given talent.
01:31And through the grace of God and hard work, we got where we are with music.
01:36While busking on the streets, the guys recorded the first album with Malawian producer Emmanuel Kamwenge.
01:42But why did they remain unknown, despite having a popular manager who was promoting them?
01:49Our type of music is not very popular in Africa, because this is the birthplace of folk,
01:57and people have grown up listening to it.
01:59Now, they want to experience modern genres like hip-hop.
02:03Or maybe we should ask the question differently.
02:08Namely, how success and fame are measured in the African music scene.
02:13The prevailing view on the continent is that folk or world music is only popular internationally.
02:19But is that even true?
02:22In Malawi, just like the rest of the world, you find that different genres of music
02:27who also have niche audiences or niche markets.
02:31In terms of popularity, I think we need to make much deeper research,
02:37because now a lot of the trends of consuming music are on online platforms,
02:42where a lot of the folk musicians are not.
02:44But if you listen to the traditional media, the radio stations,
02:48maybe some of the mainstream TV stations, you still find that there's a good presence
02:54of the grassroots music or the folk music.
03:01In order to be booked for international festivals, a certain local presence is expected.
03:06That is why Yosefe and Yobu drawled Neil Naya, who had come to Malawi from England in 2012.
03:13The new band seemed to harmonize, and Neil invited them to the Saudi Sabusara Festival in Zanzibar in 2017.
03:21This was to be their anticipated breakthrough. And what happened next?
03:28We were nervous because it was our first time a foreigner had shown interest in us.
03:32So at first, we turned down the offer to go abroad with this stranger.
03:40Our manager assured us that we would go with his young brother, Chileto,
03:45making it three against one. And that's when we agreed to go.
03:53We met Mayo from France and a BBC reporter.
03:56It is Mayo who invited us to France for our first concert overseas.
04:01When we would first start going, we were touring around France.
04:06And especially my family in England, French food is supposed to be the best food.
04:10It's like, oh, you guys are so lucky you're eating French food.
04:12Meanwhile, Yobu and Yosef here are just looking at all the food and thinking,
04:16why are they feeding us this rubbish food?
04:19And there's obviously a stereotype. They think because we're from Malawi,
04:22they probably expect that we don't have good food.
04:24Not realizing that Malawian food is the freshest and best food in the world,
04:27in spite of the GDP or whatsoever.
04:30It was only by focusing on a career outside of Malawi
04:33that the Madalito band achieved the success they'd hoped for
04:36and gained a die-hard fan base.
04:39They performed at Womad, Rox Zilda and Womax,
04:43released a new album on a Swiss label and have a documentary film due for release.
04:48Have they done everything right?
04:50The fact they don't drink alcohol, like most musicians, is a big thing.
04:53And after the show, they don't want to go and show themselves.
04:56They say they want to be remembered for how they were on stage.
05:00After the show, they want to go to the hotel and sleep.
05:03And even me, I've gotten into that mood as well.
05:06So it's just like, make sure we look after ourselves.
05:07We're doing a lot of shows, five shows a week.
05:10Looking back, I can gladly say that my life has changed.
05:14I now own a house and I also bought back the farm that my parents sold when we were struggling.
05:19I own two residential houses, which I rent out, and I have two motorcycles.
05:25One for business and one for personal use.
05:28And I have two farms.
05:30The future is bright.
05:33We have just started right now.
05:35We still have a lot to achieve and we are not even halfway there.
05:39Despite their international success, the band completed their first Malawi tour only in 2023.
05:44But invitations to local festivals remain few and far between.
05:49Why is it still important for them to perform here?
05:53And how do they manage to overcome their homegrown challenges?
05:56It's more just the fact that having done all those shows internationally,
06:00you come back to Malawi, you've never even received a single phone call to say,
06:03come on, perform somewhere.
06:06And then we organize the show ourselves.
06:09And very low patronage.
06:11I do think we need to push more here and we want to do that and try and get it out to the people
06:16so they can see why this band is so well received out there.
06:20In a global village that is growing ever closer together,
06:24traditional musicians like the Madalizo band can focus on more distant horizons.
06:29The novelty of the sound and the unfamiliar language may generate enthusiasm.
06:34And perhaps home is simply too small for them.
06:37But being haunted has too small for them.
06:38Why do you think that didn'tou
06:40God is a machine or a-
06:42James Danks
06:43I've taken already a whole gear of them every year...
06:44She's been questioned today today
06:46I've been scheduled for a long time before
06:47starts running veryassies
06:50The money whocripted by the children who breadth them
06:54He has told me of being abandoned.
06:56The work chosen a tasting guide
06:58Theふ walking a pilgrim
07:00The life of them hopefully
07:03Come to hang out
