Tawanda Marwizi
HARARE – Noise and husky voices led to the eviction of four instrumentalists Derek Bailey, Dominic Benson, Theo Rhode and Justin Soutter from several rehearsal rooms in the capital.
Their inspiration was drawn from some local musicians like Oliver Mtukudzi and Alick Macheso. On stage they have worked with Jah Prayzah, Ammara Brown and Hope Masike among others.
However this was not before several music pundits judged their music as too loud for the consumers and could not offer them places to rehearse.
When they finally made it, they decided to call the group Evicted because of the evictions they suffered in several rehearsal venues in the capital.
Through determination and their zeal to push Afro rock music in the country and beyond borders, they decided to go abroad and record their first project “A Place Called Home.” Soutter told Business Times in an interview, that it has not been an easy journey but the band has managed to bring several genres like rock, funk and reggae together.
He recounts how they named the group after they got thrown out of several rehearsal venues. “The name Evicted came about because we were often evicted from rehearsal venues in the early days for being too loud. Evicted is a fusion of our individual and collective influences. Our goal is to use music to bring people together, regardless of backgrounds. We are also passionate about Anti-Poaching in Zimbabwe,” he said.
He said their sound has been developing since the release of the first album.
“We are all just fans of music ourselves. Our sound is inspired by Rock, Zim afro-beats and the Funk. Our First Album was called ‘A Place Called Home’ released in 2008. It was primarily a Rock music album. Our sound has since evolved to include world beat flavors,” he added.
Their song “Ndoita Sei” stormed the local music market with its comical video, making it one of their success stories to date. Sung in Shona, the piece is a true story of a man who had all his belongings stolen after a night of fun.
“Our music is inspired by life and we do not have a specific message but things that happen around us. Ndoita Sei is t something that usually happens to many men in life,” he added.
To add on their discography they later released an EP called “Tomorrow” that contained “Ndoita Sei” and the title track.
Since then they have been concentrating on having live performances in different parts of the world.
They have performed in different festivals making them one of the sought after groups together with Mokoomba and Oliver Mtukudzi at international festivals. “People like our music and we have successfully fused the genres together making us a household name,” he said.
They recently performed at Harare International Arts Festival on the Global and Coca Cola green stages.
The group, which has been together for seven years now, has lined up several performances and studio works for their fans.
“We are working to have a collaboration with one of the biggest musicians in the country. We have to give our fans music,” he said.
