20 INTERVIEW HM: Hi guys, introduce yourselves to London town
Sarina: Hello my name is Sarina Leah and I’m a singer - songwriter from London.
Mohammed: Peace, I’m Mohammed Yahya a Mozambican born rapper based in London. HM: So why the name Native Sun?
Mohammed: Native because we’re ultimately trying to bring an ancient legacy of musical expression in modern times. Sun because the sun represents so many things and can offer us so much from light to Vitamin D. We hope that our music can also bring some light, love, hope, peace and joy to those struggling through dark times.
HM: How did the two of you meet and how did you connect musically?
Sarina: We were introduced to each other by Mohammed’s wife and my close friend Sukina over 10 years ago. They and a couple of other friends created an event called Rebel music and many artists performed there. Out of that came an incredible compilation CD called ‘Rebel Muzik’ which we all featured on. Our respect for one another’s music developed as our own solo material developed and serendipity has it that 10 years later we collaborated for the first time and the first song we wrote together was ‘Gallery Of Dreams’.
HM: What would you say is the underlying message in your music? Mohammed: Our music’s underlying message is one of love towards the Creator, mankind, the environment and the whole creation. It’s a message of hope and faith in what we can achieve when united, it’s also a message of peace so we never hesitate to speak out against injustices committed to individuals, communities or the environment.
HM: You definitely feel the influence of your respective backgrounds; Mozambique and the Caribbean, in your music. What part has your life in London played? Sarina: Living and growing up in East London from the 80’s till now has definitely ‘inspired my music’. London has a sound, an atmosphere and character unique to itself. I grew up listening to American music but equally
I partied to jungle, garage, home grown soul and British music. Everything from Soul II Soul, Omar and the late Lynden David Hall to Portishead, Skunk Anansie, IG Culture, 4 Hero and so forth. I feel so lucky to be influenced by such different music. During the late 90’s, early 2000’s live singing and open mic opportunities for solo artists were growing in poetry spaces. These were safe spaces where musicians could share ideas, make genuine friends from these scenes and collaborate. This built the music community Native Sun are now a part of. I studied Art and Fashion - the many museums and galleries I visit for culture, design and expression help with opening of the third
eye...being brave to create your ideas and have an outlet of expression in London is such a blessing, not everyone gets this type of freedom.
HM: Your aptly titled album ‘Indigenous Sound Waves’ features a number of ‘indigenous’ instruments, as does most of your music. What do these instruments add to your sound and do you play them all?
Sarina: We are really inspired by many live instruments like the marimba, Djembe, Horns, various percussion and the Kora... as we feel they add an authentic flavour of an era we love, like Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, live sound is incredible. The process for our album focused on meticulously seeking producers who understood the sound and played or sampled sounds to give the album the direction we hoped for. We are currently excitedly practicing instruments we love and hopefully will share this in a future project.
HM: Our HOT pick from the album has to be Mother & Son, what’s yours?
Mohammed: That’s such a hard question, we connect with different songs at different times and depending on our mood. I love ‘Mother & Son’, ‘Gallery of Dreams’, ‘Legacy’ but one of my favourite tracks is ‘Senses’.
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