Meet Gatarira, a PhD academician who dreams big in music

Pierre Cobes Gatarira. He is pursuing PhD in plant breeding at University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

He completed his Bachelors’ studies at UR, former Umutara Polytechnic, In Agriculture, and then Masters in agronomy at Annamalai University in India.

He started music at High School at Petit Seminaire Zaza, but could not hold as he was busy with studies from Rwanda, India to Nigeria until he now thinks it is his right time to awake his talent.

Gatarira now has one song to his name, and is relished to carry on releasing more tracks consistently.

“I now want to give music more time and start producing a lot of quality songs,” he said.

He is now in contact with one of the Nigerian Music Studios working on a new English track which is going out this November as he does all these while off from studies.

“I am trying to promote both academic research and music; I have seen that music can also promote music”

Gatarira is studying in the country which is home to a number of big music stars at the international scene, and one would wonder if he used that opportunity to approach them for music collaborations.

He reveals he tries his best to convince them and he, for instance, is in talks with one of them to work on his music project getting released this month (November).

“I am planning to produce my song in Men Music Group, and, hopefully, Tekno will be one of my producers and he will sing in that song as well”

“I will try to approach the likes of Kiss Daniel, Tekno and many more [in my future projects]. We are often close, but not much”

Did he [Tekno] confirm already?

 I cannot say yes or not, but I will let you know after shooting the video of my new track. Featuring in the song is now 50/50 (per cent).

What are your future plans in music? How far are you dreaming to reach and what gives you motivation that you will reach there?

I cannot predict my future but my dream is to take my music to a higher level. I also want to own my own music studio thanks to which I can have many more songs to my name. It can also help me promote future artists, especially young talents.

What kind of music do you compose?

 I would like to produce more love music, in RnB and Afro Beat styles, because they can promote love. You know that without love, this world is nothing, no happiness, no business and no marriage. I think love music contributes a lot in building good relationships between people in the community.

Mighty Popo on his experience at Morocco music festival

Award-winning Rwandan musician, Mighty Popo has just returned from Morocco, where he took part in the annual Visa for Music Festival held in Rabat.

The four-day music extravaganza attracted 1200 music professionals from 85 countries across Africa and the Middle East from November 22 to 25.

Mighty Popo is the founder and organiser of KigaliUp Music Festival. He was invited to share his experience on how festivals are organised in Rwanda, and how to make them successful in the music business.

The event focused on sharing experiences on how festivals are organised across Africa, music production for the promotion of artists and the networking among artists and other key stakeholders.

 In an interview, Mighty Popo told The New Times that it was a great honor and privilege to share his experience at the Visa for Music Festival adding that he also learnt a lot from his counterparts from across the globe.

“I promoted KigaliUp with the aim of attracting more participants to attend future editions in Kigali. The festival was also an opportunity for me to learn from others. I also used the event to get tips on how best I can organise our festival to make it more interesting,” he explained.

The festival was attended by over 15000 revelers - Photo by William Farrington

The event offers opportunities for cultural exchange and networking between musicians, agents, recording companies, artistic directors, cultural organisations, media, trainers and others involved in music in Africa and the Middle East.

Mighty Popo noted that East African music is progressing and has potential to penetrate a bigger market in Maghreb and Middle East through Visa for Music Festival.

The festival was graced by a number of big names in music like, RFI 2015 Prix Decouverte winner Elida Almeida, Sony Musicre and José Da Silva, among others.

The musical event also featured numerous cultural activities, such as honorary ceremonies, seminars, workshops and training courses, meetings and a cultural expo.

The fourth edition of Visa for Music, also known as VFM, was organised in collaboration with the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and the Hiba Foundation.

Artistes take to the stage during this highly successful Visa for Music Festival that concluded on Saturday in Rabat, Morocco Photo by Hamza Mehimdate