Akeem Lasisi
The Managing Director of Evergreen Music, Bimbo Esho, has explained how ‘Ariya Eko’ will enrich authentic Nigerian music. According to her, music festival holding in Lagos in October will not only celebrate the beauty of the musical art, it will also bring to reckoning artistes no more in the limelight.
In a video broadcast on the programme holding in October, Esho, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the company identified as Africa’s largest collectors of music of years to years, says: “Ariya Eko means many things. The word ‘Ariya’ itself means entertainment; it means fun. The concept of Ariya Eko really is for a revival process of music of years to years.
“We, over the years, have seen Lagos as the place to be for entertainers. If you want to become a very popular musician, you have to come to Lagos. That’s one of the things that people like us have always known since when we were growing up and we also learned from the elders. We have had a lot of musicians of note, if I must say, that became very, very, very popular in Lagos over the years, you know. So, Ariya Eko is something that we created for that nostalgic feeling; one, for that revival process of indigenous music in Lagos, so that people can see how rich the state is and how much it has done with indigenous music over the years.”
She adds that the long time dream is to see a revival process.
“We don’t want our music, which has the identity of a true Nigerian, to die a natural death,” Esho says. “We continue to revive. We continue to promote these musicians, both the ones that are dead, whom we give posthumous awards, and the living that we celebrate. We want to bring those no more enjoying stardom back to limelight so that people can see that they still exist and they can still perform again and, those still playing among them, we want them to get patronage. We want to also continue to encourage them that there’s nothing as beautiful as our music. When you listen to our music you get great and deep vibes from the singer. You listen to the drums; you see dancers and more because the Nigerian music is complete. It’s not just about songs.
“So, we are trying to project the beauty and aesthetics in our music so that, five years from now, I want people to say some people came together and designed a revival process. And what’s that revival process? Promoting the music that it truly ours. Promoting the music that the world can relate with. You know, and also majorly promoting band culture, so that’s what we want to achieve in five years to come.
“It’s for all of us. It’s for all of us that understand and that appreciate good music. It’s for Lagosians, too, to also have their own culture, their own kind of activities.
“We are going to be having this big event October this year. It’s an independent day special. This year’s event is going to be a revival process. It’s going to be about promotion of indigenous music in Nigeria. You don’t want to miss this year’s concert. See you there!”
