Scarlet – An Interview

George Mukwita, former co-presenter of the Chanters Lodge Experience and now Lusaka student and socialite recently caught up with the beautiful and talented 26 year old Zambian born and bred singer, songwriter, performing artist, radio presenter, blogger, poet and goodwill ambassador for the Kayula Childhood Cancer Foundation, known simply as Scarlet.

The first time George met her was about four years ago in 2010 at So Good Studio, she had just recorded her first song – hearing her voice for the first time he knew there and then she was destined for greatness! Here’s their recent conversation:

George: Congratulations on all your success, what are the things you know now that you wish you’d known before you released your debut album?
Scarlet: The difference good mixing and mastering makes when you’re creating a project, and that rushing to finish makes the end result not uniform. I also wish I’d known how hard I would need to work to promote myself outside my comfort zone!

George: What do you miss most about being less famous than you were?
Scarlet: I used to have a lot more privacy without trying or hiding. I miss that privacy – now I have to be careful about everything I do and say, where I go, what I wear, and with whom I associate.

George: Since you came into public consciousness as a singer/songwriter how different has life been for you?
Scarlet : Life has changed a lot. I have met so many amazing people and been exposed to so much that is new. I’ve also had to do a lot of growing up. I’ve been inspired by so many things and I’ve really learned the meaning of humility. I’ve had to give up stuff too, but I’m not complaining – I love what I do.

George: Talk me through the experience of writing, recording and finally releasing your first album.
Scarlet: We put together what we thought was a clear representation of my full body of work from 2010 to 2012. There were a lot of songs to choose from. I worked with Mutamula Mwale to choose the best tracks. Kangwa from Mfumu Designs and Dominic from Yoka did my album art and sent everything off to South Africa. We had to organize the album launches and listening parties and to do all the radio and TV promotion work. It was a fun journey. I can’t wait to do it all again, especially now that I’ve learned so much!

George: What was the most difficult song to write and record?
Scarlet:  “Nulundilila” because it’s in Nsenga and it has a lot of words as well as a complicated rhythm pattern.

George: Any personal songs on the album? Did you dedicate any song to anyone?
Scarlet: “Remember Me” was for Luchi from Radio Phoneix because he is the one person who has been with me on this journey from the day he discovered me until today, one of my biggest supporters and great friends.

George:
You’re beautiful, with a great voice, you’re a great songwriter and performer – in short you possess all the qualities of a pop idol – what makes Scarlet tick?
Scarlet: I love to read and write, I cook and spend time with loved ones. I like to visit interesting places and listen to a lot of music as well as eating out and watching movies. So that’s what I do when I’m not working or researching for work.

George: What’s your take on the current music scene in Zambia?
Scarlet: The current music scene in Zambia is growing, developing and showing so much positive change. I’m glad to be a part of it at this moment.

George: What are you working on right now?
Scarlet: I’m a full time musician and a part time radio presenter and writer. I work on my music more than anything else. I’m also in the process of launching a career in catering and event management.

George: What radio show do you host?
Scarlet: My show is called ‘The Mahogany Soul Cafe’ and airs every Wednesday and Monday nights on Power FM.

George: What can fans expect from you this year?
Scarlet : This year there will be a couple of singles and videos. Also live shows country wide. I’m also changing my sound a little bit. Right now I’m working on more lifestyle things and my second album.

George: Which Zambian artists do you listen to? With whom would you like to work?
Scarlet : I listen to a lot of artists. I would like to work with Mumba Yachi, ZoneFam, Pompi and Mampi.

George: What are five things people don’t know about Scarlet
Scarlet: I’m horribly short sighted and suffer from terrible stage fright as well as claustrophobia. I’m a really good cook, I’m the oldest of seven girls and I love fresh cream! Is that five?

George
: (Laughing) Yes! Now we know! Thanks for your time – any last words to fans and readers?
Scarlet: There’s a lot I’m working on and a lot I want to do. I’m grateful to everyone that believes in me and supports what I do. I’ll keep singing and getting better and better for them.

George: We wish you every success!
Scarlet: Thanks!

 
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Around The World Experience

Meet Jill and Paul Carter (above) who left Fremantle, Western Australia in April 2010 on their yacht SV Elevation to sail around the world and who, in March 2014 ended up in the studios of Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, as Guests on our weekly radio show, The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz! ‘How did they manage that when Zambia’s land locked’? You’re wondering – Jill and Paul explained to listeners that they had always wanted to see Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, so they had berthed the Elevation in Cape Town, jumped on a plane and flown up to Livingstone, so they could do just that! Staying at Chanters Lodge it was natural for us to invite them on to the show to tell us something of their around the world trip so far.

Jill informed us that they had recently sailed from Reunion to Cape Town having previously visited many countries in the Far East on their travels. From the long list they singled out their trips to Borneo and Cambodia as two of the highlights especially the rain forest music festival in Borneo. (For more details you can read Jill’s blog here). Milli Jam wanted to know if this adventurous, personable couple were still working and on leave from their jobs. Paul told us that he had retired from his work as a marine engineer in 2009, while Jill explained that she had been in the banking industry for 33 years but was made redundant following the world crash in 2008. They had decided to build a state of the art yacht and sail the seven seas!

The music on the show was good. We were celebrating the birth of Tamera, Milli Jam’s brand new baby daughter – his other 5 children are all boys. We opened with ‘My Love’ from Route 94 featuring Jess Glynne, top of the UK singles charts as we went on air, back to back with ‘Hunter’ a track from Pharrell Williams’ hot album ‘GIRL’. The guys chose tracks from Salma, Chris Brown, B1 featuring Pentagon as well as Nelly Furtado. Our oldie of the week was ‘Motivation’ by Kelly Rowland and the prize we give each week of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist, was quickly snapped up by a certain Charles. My pick of the week was Phillip Phillips’ ‘Raging Fire’.

Jill and Paul revealed that they had been married for thirty three years. They said they had much enjoyed the activities they had undertaken since they had arrived in Livingstone including a visit to Victoria Falls which they described as ‘even more stunning than they had expected’. They had also taken a one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana. They had loved the sunset cruise on the Zambezi on the Lady Livingstone as well as a fifteen minute helicopter flight over the Falls. They thoroughly recommended the Bushtracks dinner train, as well as the traditional dancing at Cafe Zambezi on a Friday night.

Asked about their future plans, the Carters told us that they would fly back to Cape Town the following week and would then sail to Ascension Island and St Helena, before crossing the Atlantic and spending time in the Caribbean. “Isn’t it scary sailing the oceans in bad weather?” Milli Jam wondered (it was pouring with rain outside the studio!) and the couple agreed that yes, sometimes it was. Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, they both said they hoped to be together, happy and still enjoying their adventures. Fantastic couple, fantastic adventure, great show!

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The Young Australian Experience!

Meet Emma Arians (above right) and Ciana Wills, young Australians, and Guests on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay-Hillz. ‘The Experience’ is our weekly radio show which goes out live on air every Sunday on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The programme is a lively mixture of music and chat – especially lively on this edition with these two pretty, bubbly Aussies! Milli Jam wanted to know if this was the girls’ first visit to Zambia, they replied that for Emma it was, but that it was Ciana’s second time to come to the country. Ciana’s first visit had been some seven years’ ago on a family trip with her parents and brother. The girls told listeners that they had spent the first week of their visit at Chanters Lodge, the second week they were based at Jollyboys, Livingstone’s famous backpackers’ hostel. They said they loved Zambia calling it ‘safe and friendly’.

The ladies informed us that they were both from Melbourne, Australia, and both working. Emma for Village Cinemas and Ciana for Menzies Aviation. Emma is trained in tourism management and Ciana in childrens’ services. Ciana revealed that all her family work at Melbourne Airport including her brother, her mum works for Singapore Airlines as well as her dad who is a Customs and Excise Agent. Both the girls said they had boyfriends back in Melbourne, both in the building industry which made me wonder whether they had an eye on being built a house ‘later’. The girls did not deny it! Ciana and Emma told us they had met when they were kids playing for the same girls’ soccer team. Both girls had previously travelled to USA and Europe.

The music on the show was up to date featuring new singles from Zambia’s own Samantha Mumba, as well as Haim, Pharrell Williams and Tiesto. We also featured Zone Fam’s ‘Lobola’ stopping to explain to these Australian girls that lobola was the price a potential husband would have to pay their parents for their hand in marriage – if they were Zambian! They laughed and said they would speak to their respective dads! Tracks from Ne-Yo and John Legend followed. My pick of the week was a track from Pharrell’s new album featuring Daft Punk. Jay chose the oldie of the week – and stumped the audience first time up as no-one won the prize!

The girls said they had been very busy since they’d arrived in Livingstone. They had much enjoyed the lion encounter and had loved the walk with cheetahs. One of the highlights had been lunch on Livingstone Island and the girls had posted pictures on Facebook of themselves very close to the edge of Victoria Falls, scaring their parents back in Australia! They had quad biked too, and had much enjoyed a visit to Lubasi Orphanage that day. They were looking forward to a gorge swing and an abseil later in the week.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Emma said she hoped to still be with her boyfriend Ben and travelling. Ciana meanwhile wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, still with boyfriend Dave and to have children of her own.

It was a lively show with lots of laughs!

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Music Industry v Music Business

George Mukwita, (above) former co-host of our weekly radio show, now at college in Lusaka, sent through this interesting piece for the blog:

“These days the worldwide recording business seems mainly to exist to promote tours for the artists. Every artist and music producer who is in the business knows that the big money now is mainly in concerts, and not in record or CD sales. Every newly produced song/video is targeted at a certain audience for whom the artist hopes to perform while on tour – the songs and videos promote the artist’s material, mainly for concerts and not album sales. Why? Because there is so much free stuff on the internet these days, illegal downloads have left music stores and outlets in limbo as physical CD sales continue to drop drastically the world over.

In fact these days a lot of artists/musicians choose to personally leak their own music as a marketing strategy – what are they marketing? Certainly not CD sales or iTunes sales – because the music has been released for free, (in music language leaked for free). The objective therefore can be seen to draw as much attention as possible to the track and artist, to popularize their music, create hype and automatically push demand for shows/concerts.

I say this strategy works very well if you are JayZ, Beyonce, U2, One Direction or the like, but my point is that it’s only a selected few that can pull this off. Every other artist and their promoters – especially in developing countries like Zambia – must make it a point to push their work harder on radio, local TV and now very much on the internet. Success in most cases is as a result of a careful and calculated risk mostly undertaken by the promoter and less by the artist.

It’s not always the the most talented artists that headline the biggest concerts or most concerts but often it’s the hard working artist with the best promoter, hence the expression “hard work sometimes beats talent”. Artists and their promoters must go out of their way not to do different things but to do things differently, until even other promoters start calling for shows/concerts starring their artists. Everything starts out in the studio, where producer and artist blend to create sounds that are hopefully appealing to the target market – catchy songs always work! Once this is done, promoters must quickly create a hype, push the songs on TV, the internet and radio as well as organizing newspaper interviews and TV appearances, building a demand for concerts. Every artist dreams of performing at a sold out concert with people singing along to every song!

If you listen carefully to the new music today you may agree with me that it’s recorded in a certain way to make it easier for fans at a concert, whether hearing the music for the first time or not, to sing and dance along to it. Most young urban African artists describe this whole process as “The Music Business” – something 78% of Zambian artists are familiar with but not practicing, as they are still stuck in ‘the music industry’ hoping to make money from selling CD’s – it won’t happen!

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Trym & Torkel Fjortoft Guest On The Experience!

Meet Torkel (left) and Trym Fjortoft, Norwegian brothers on their first visit to Africa therefore also Zambia, and guests on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay-Hillz. The Experience is our weekly Sunday night radio show, airing from 20.30 – 21.30 hrs (CAT) live on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. You can listen on line too with the right app.

Torkel and Trym told listeners that although they hail from Tromsoe in the far north of Norway, inside the Arctic Circle, they are currently living in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Trym, the older of the two brothers, explained that having finished a degree course in international relations at the University of Oslo, he is currently working at a youth information centre in Oslo, but hopes to return to university soon to study for a Masters Degree. Torkel is still at Oslo University also studying international relations, specifically American history and politics. “Do you like Oslo?” Milli Jam wondered. “Oslo’s great!” replied the boys in unison!

Torkel and Trym told listeners that they were in Zambia with several other members of their family. Their grandfather, also on the trip, was in Livingstone as part of a group of educationalists visiting student teachers on practicals at various primary schools in the area. The boys had grabbed the opportunity to visit Zambia. “Is Zambia what you expected?” We asked. These tall, handsome young Norwegians said that it was everything they expected and more, they said that Zambian people were amongst the nicest and friendliest people they had ever met. (Not at all an uncommon observation amongst visitors to this country).

The brothers went on to explain that they had been very busy since arriving in the country a week ago. They had visited Mongu in Western Province, where they had been given Lozi names and sampled Zambian food, as well as Chobe NP in Botswana where they had seen a lot of game but unfortunately no big cats. They described Victoria Falls as totally amazing and said they had not realised the Falls were ‘so big and so magnificent’. We nodded knowingly and sagely!

The boys, especially Torkel, a self confessed ‘chart junky’ when it comes to music, loved the tracks we played on the show. We opened, as usual, with Avicii’s ‘Hey Brother’ followed by the latest from Sam Smith. We followed this with A Great Big World’s ‘Say Something’ featuring Christina Aguilera, as well as the latest from Zambia’s Franciar. Milli Jam chose tracks from Shakira and Zambia’s Petersen. Our oldie of the week was Baby Love by The Supremes, but local network problems meant that listeners texting in to try to win the prize we give each week to the first person to text us the name of the artist on the oldie, went unwon. My pick of the week was a new track from Guy Sebastian and we closed with an effort from John Martin.

When asked about sport the boys bemoaned the fact that Norway’s medal haul in the just ended Sochi Winter Olympics had been far below national expectations, plus the fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjær recently appointed Norwegian manager of Wales’s Cardiff City, had made a poor start to his new job.

On the social scene “Do you go clubbing?” Milli Jam wondered, and the boys said that both Oslo and Tromsoe had great clubs. Trym and Torkel then started to discuss why they had not found time to go clubbing in Livingstone, and seemed to decide that this was exactly what they would do after they’d been out to dinner at Olga’s, right after the show!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, they both said they were involved in music and wanted to be pop stars. On a more serious note Trym said he would be very happy to be in Zambia but felt it more likely that he would have finished studying and would possibly be teaching, as that profession ran in the family. Torkel the younger brother was insistent that he would be making money ‘doing music’.

Great guests, great presentation, great music, good show!

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Another Norwegian Experience!

In the six and a half years that our regular Sunday night local radio show has been on air we’ve had lots of Norwegian guests on the programme. The Chanters Lodge Experience goes out live every Sunday between 20.30 and 21.30 hrs (CAT) on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. So, last Sunday we were delighted to welcome three more Norwegian ladies on to the show (left to right above) Ingrid Krogstad, Kristin Alfer and Kristel Linset. All wives, all mums, all Norwegian, all from Trondheim or near Trondheim, all educationalists and all staying at Chanters Lodge! Trondheim is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway, with a population of 181,513. It is the third most populous municipality in Norway, the ladies told us.

Ingrid and Kristel are primary school principals, while Kristin is an education adviser. The ladies were all visiting Zambia as part of their co-operation with several primary schools in the Livingstone area, where they have Norwegian student teachers undergoing practical teaching as part of their college courses. The ladies had brought letters from their Norwegian pupils for their Zambian counterparts and would go back with letters from Zambian children for Norwegian children. Kristin told listeners it was her fourth visit to Zambia but for Ingrid and Kristel it was their first time to be in the country. The ladies also mentioned that in May this year it was hoped to take a group of six Zambian student teachers to Norway for practical experience.

The show was different for us, to the extent that it was the first time for many years our show had not been co-hosted by George da Soulchild Kaufela, who, regular readers will know, had hosted his last show the previous Sunday before heading off to college in Lusaka. We were delighted to welcome Jay Hillz to the show as Milli Jam’s new co-host, thus the title becomes The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The guys chose great music. We opened with a track from Zedd, back to back with a new single from Canadian Nelly Furtado. Jay rocked us with Rihanna’s ‘What Now’ and a Zambian track from Tyce – ‘Kazizi’. Milli Jam dropped Ne-Yo’s ‘Bigger Than This’ while his Zambian choice was by B1 with Sokola Bonzo. Our oldie of the week was a Nicky Minaj track and the prize we offer each week to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist on the oldie, was quickly snapped up.

The ladies explained to listeners that as well as having student teachers on practicals in Livingstone, there were others in Mongu. Kristel and Ingrid would be leaving for Mongu in Western Province with other members of the group the following Wednesday and they were looking forward to seeing a different part of Zambia. They had much enjoyed a two day one night safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, from which they had returned the same day as our show went on air. They were only slightly disappointed that they had not seen any big cats. The ladies were looking forward to seeing Victoria Falls and maybe doing some of the other activities available in the Livingstone area during their visit.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Ingrid said she would like to be retired. Kristel wanted still to be healthy and a school principal while Kristin wanted still to be working, with her successful family doing fine. Were their husbands missing them at home? We wondered. They laughed and said “seeing we left home on Valentine’s Day, they probably are!” It was a pleasure to host these lively, funny, bright Norwegian mums on our show!

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The Last Kaufela Experience!

The latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela (the two guys featured in the photograph above, George is on the left), was rather sad – and not just because Liverpool had thrashed Arsenal 5-1 the day before – something that made Milli Jam and I sad but George ecstatic! No, it was sad because it was in fact George Mukwita’s (aka Soulchild aka Kaufela) last show, for the time being anyway.

George was therefore the Guest on, as well as the co-host of, the programme. Fired because of his Liverpool affiliations? Not a bit of it! As he explained to listeners he has been accepted on a three year course at the Co-operative College in Lusaka to study for a diploma in Agric-Business Management. “So you’re going to be a farmer?” I speculated, but George replied that he was more interested in the business management aspect of the course which would include accounting, marketing and economics amongst other subjects.

“What’s brought this on?” Asked a glum Milli Jam who has co-hosted our show with George since 2009. George replied that he felt it was time for him to further his education, seeing that it was not really safe for a young Zambian man to rely on radio presentation and music to make a good living in years ahead – he wanted more strings to his bow. George told us that initially he was being helped through college by his aunt, but that he hoped to secure part time work, possibly on radio in Lusaka, to help with the substantial college expense. He also hoped to be able to play some shows to raise funds – George is an accomplished musician amongst his many other talents. He would be a boarder at the mixed gender college.

We played one of George’s tracks on the show – ‘Took You’ by Roberto featuring Kaufela, back to back with Chiko Wise ft B1 with ‘Kumwanda’. We opened the show with ‘Dibby Dibby Sound’ by DJ Fresh vs Jay Fay featuring Ms Dynamite back to back with the latest from The 1975. Tracks from Beyonce featuring Jay Z, and Toni Braxton with Babyface also graced the show. The prize of a dinner for two with drinks that we offer to the first person to text us telling us the artist on our oldie of the week, went unwon for the second week running, prompting someone to text asking us to play another track so that there could be a winner. We declined. They didn’t know Paolo Nutini sang Candy, so that was that!

George told listeners that he would be leaving Livingstone the following day and that he had already co-hosted his last breakfast show on 107.7 fm. He said there was so much he would miss about Livingstone including friends and colleagues and of course co-hosting the Chanters Lodge Experience. We said we would only reveal George’s replacement on the programme the following Sunday. George thanked all the listeners as well as the owner of the station Swithin Haangala for ‘helping him grow’ as a broadcaster and presenter. He had been in Livingstone for nine years and had loved it!

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years from now, George said he wanted to be alive and breathing, opening doors for himself and others. We thanked him for his inspiration and hard work on our show and wished him all the best for the future. Then we sat down and cried because Arsenal had lost 5-1 to Liverpool!!

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The Much Travelled Experience!

We were happy to welcome the much travelled Malcolm Lindsay (above) as our guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela, our weekly Sunday night radio show, airing at 20.30 hrs CAT and offering an hour of good local and international music, as well as chat with our Guest. We also give listeners the chance to win dinner for two with drinks at the lodge, if someone can text us within a minute telling us who’s the artist on our ‘oldie of the week’. On this edition no-one won. “Oh well, there’s always next week!” I said.

Malcolm told listeners that he was in Livingstone for a short holiday and that he was a South African, based south of Durban. As a project manager for oil pipe line installation, maintenance and repairs he travels a lot in his work and had recently returned from Queensland, Australia expecting to go back there again for another tour of duty soon. He estimated that he had lived, worked or visited more than 40 countries in his life time and told us that Italy was one of his favourites, he loved the landscape, food and the excitable but friendly people. He also talked well of his time in Indonesia where he preferred to work rather than in the Middle East. Malcolm told listeners that he had been married twice but was currently single.

Whilst in Livingstone Malcolm had enjoyed a two day one night safari to Chobe NP in Botswana and had much enjoyed the wonderful array of bird life on the river banks and wildlife in the park. He intended to take a microlight flight over the Falls before he left early the following week and he said he had much enjoyed staying at Chanters Lodge.

The music on the show was good. We opened with Katy B’s ‘Crying For No Reason’ back to back with the latest from Gorgon City featuring MNEK. George picked local tracks from F Jay featuring Urban Hype and Hamoba featuring Ty2. Milli Jam dropped tracks from Drake and Jennifer Lopez. My pick of the week was a new track from Toni Braxton and Babyface – ‘Roller Coaster’. We closed with Emily Sande’s ‘Untouchable’.

Malcolm told listeners that his favourite type of music is country and his favourite star – Willie Nelson. His love of this genre stemmed from the time he lived in USA. Sports wise, being South African, it was no surprise to hear that his favourite sport is rugby, and coming from Durban his favourite team The Sharks, apart of course from the Springboks. As Malcolm is involved with gas pipelines we asked him about fracking – the process of obtaining natural gas from shale, and he told us that they had found gas in both Mozambique and Angola, so there was a strong possibility of it also being found in Zambia.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing 10 years from now, our affable and interesting guest said he would like to be retired, living in his house on the South African Wild Coast with a plentiful supply of fresh crayfish. His pimped 4×4 (either a Ford or Mazda) would be parked in the garage ready for him to take off to explore Africa any time he felt like it! We laughed and thanked him for guesting on our show!

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The Australian Experience

We were delighted to welcome bank Isaac Mwanza (above) to the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. It was Isaac’s second time to be our guest on the programme. Why then ‘The Australian Experience’ you’re wondering about the caption above? Well, Isaac is a Zambian but for the past year he’s been studying and working in Australia so, as he was back in Zambia for a short holiday, we invited him on to the show to tell us all about his Australian experience. Before leaving for Australia in January 2013, Isaac had been a full time employee and presenter at Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station which hosts our show every Sunday night for an hour at 20.30 hrs.

Isaac told listeners that he was in college in Townsville, a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef in the dry tropics region of Queensland. He is studying for an Advanced Diploma in Information Technology and hopes to finish the course by the end of this year. From there he wants to remain in Australia and go to University for a degree in IT. “How are you financing the project?” Milli Jam wanted to know and Isaac explained that he had been lucky to get a part time job in a warehouse belonging to a big company dealing in building supplies. He was involved in occupational health and safety with the company and he hoped, eventually, to be able to persuade the company to sponsor his further education. It did mean that he had a very busy life fitting in both work and studies.

The music on this show was latest. We opened with Clean Bandit’s huge hit ‘Rather Be’ featuring Jess Glynn, back to back with a new release from The Vamps. George chose tracks from Tk and Izeal as well as Bobby East, while Milli Jam went for Lorde’s ‘Royals’ song of the year at the Grammies. He also featured Ellie Goulding’s smash ‘Burn’. Our oldie of the week was a local track – ‘Juju Lover’ by Daddy Zemus and the prize we give of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist, was quickly snapped up! We closed with Neon Jungle’s ‘Braveheart’.

Isaac told listeners that he was too busy in Australia to spend much time missing Zambia! He was still a full time Arsenal supporter but the time differences and his busy schedule made it difficult to watch every game on TV. He told us that Australians are fanatics about rugby and he had subsequently developed an interest in the sport. “Are you married in Australia?” Milli Jam wanted to know. Huge laughter followed and eventually the answer ‘no’ was heard! Isaac said he would be in Livingstone until February 3rd and while he was in town he was appearing on radio on Friday and Saturday nights. So far he had not had the chance to DJ or to appear on radio in Australia, but he hoped eventually that that would be a dream come true.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years from now, Isaac said he hoped to have his own IT business, to be happily married with children as well as a lovely house and car. Given his drive, personality and hard work we were sure he would succeed and observed to young people listening that they should follow Isaac’s hard work and determination to succeed.

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The Chanters Lodge Experiencee

The latest edition of our weekly Sunday night radio show on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station – The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela – really was a Chanters Lodge experience as the two guests on the show, pictured above, are both workers at the lodge – Susan Timwendila (left) and Phostinah Siabona. Susan told listeners that it was the second time she had appeared on the show but for Phostinah it was a first time experience. Susan is a ‘receptionist’ at the lodge but I mentioned on air that that job at the lodge is much more than it sounds as it also involves stores control, bar sales and control, as well as purchasing together with the normal duties of a receptionist/cashier. Phostinah told us that she was a chef. “What’s your favourite dish”? Milli Jam asked. “Chicken Schnitzel” the reply.

“How long have you both been working at Chanters Lodge?” Milli Jam wanted to know. Susan replied that 2014 would be her tenth year and that she had started work on Tuesday August 18th 2004 (she failed to mention the time). Phostinah told him that she had started work in the kitchen at the lodge on 14th May 2012. I’m sure if one went to the files, these exact dates would prove correct! Susan took the chance to greet her mum at home (“Hi mum!”) and told us that her family are regular listeners to the show. Phostinah said that her mum and dad were in Zimba.

“Is it true” George wanted to know “that Chanters Girls dance in the kitchen when the show airs each Sunday night?” “Yes!” The girls admitted. “We gather around our little radio and rock!” “Richard” George continued “do you want to know which Chanters Girls were dancing in which clubs for how many hours over New Year?” I agreed to buy the info after the show! We opened this show with ‘Do It All Over Again’ by Elyar Fox back to back with the latest hit from Shakira featuring Rihanna. George chose two Zambian tracks one by Shyman and the other from Angozed. Milli Jam picked Pitbull featuring Ke$ha and one of our favourites at the moment – ‘Rude’ by Magic. No-one won the prize we give each week to the first person to text us telling us the name of the artist on our oldie of the week – the track was Joan Osborne’s ‘What If God Was One Of Us?’ My pick was a new track from Rascal Flatts.

The guys wanted to know what the girls did when they were not working. Susie said she loved reading and house work, Phostinah said she liked cooking and listening to the radio. Both girls told listeners they were ardent Arsenal supporters mainly because it was not safe at the lodge to admit to supporting another team. The mood at work also often revolved around the Arsenal result, so the team needed the support. Just imagine! Music wise Susan said she liked R&B and country while Phostinah likes One Direction (is there a teenage girl anywhere in the world who does not?). Both girls said they were on Facebook ‘but not very active’.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now, Susie and Phosti both hoped to still have good jobs and to be doing well. “Marriage and children?” asked Milli Jam. “That too!” They said. The girls are a great asset to the lodge and their bright vivacious personalities came over well during the programme.

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