Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Lavolta Entertainment, a foremost music management company, has continued to innovate to sustain relevancy in the face of damning challenges of the COVID-19. In an exclusive interview Freelanews, the company’s general manager, Bawo Okotie, told the editor-in-chief, VICTOR OJELABI, all there is to know.

Excerpts…

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What have you been up to after the release of your popular Wetin Dey Occur?

After the release of “Wetin Dey Occur” by our band, Lavolta Stars, it’s been even more work. There is the saying that if you go to sleep when your house is on fire, you certainly will get burnt in it. We have kept the kite flying without relenting. A lot of work has gone into promoting “Wetin Dey Occur” domestically and internationally although mostly online and a few radio promotions. Our UK partners have been handling international promotions. We would have loved to embark on some roadshows but sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic has restricted us to more of online promotions. Well, as they say, this is the new normal, doing things digitally and less of physical contacts which is a big challenge to our world today. Wetin Dey Occur was borne out of the desire to soothe the pains inflicted on our world by the COVID-19 pandemic. It might interest you to know, that our band, Lavolta Stars have been working on several other songs to be released very soon; it’s going to be explosive. I hope we would be welcome to talk about our new projects when it is released. I hope that is a yes from your media outfit?

Ofcourse, we would be happy to have the exclusive scoop. Who are your biggest influences?

As a record label, our driving force has been our cravings for Afrocentric and conscious music. We have been motivated by the success of great African music icons like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Sir Victor Olaiya, Cardinal Rex Lawson, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Ik Dairo, Chief Eddy Okonta, Manu Dibango, Oliver De Coque, Kola Ogunkoya, Femi Kuti, Dr Orlando Owoh, Orlando Julius to mention just a few.

What is the most important thing for anyone to know about your band?

In very few words, the Lavolta Stars is an assemblage of seasoned and dynamic musicians driven by the passion for making quality Afrocentric music.

The world is full of questions about quarantine. What have your days been like? Are you creating new music or listening to things that inspire each of you?

This period has been quite challenging for humanity in general. Our regular routines and operations have been adversely affected. However, we decided to make the best use of the time to keep our artistes focused and motivated. We were able to release Wetin Dey Occur when the restrictions were lifted, and we have been working on several other songs and projects since then.

What have you been listening to in quarantine?

As I mentioned earlier, our cravings are more on Afrocentric music so basically as a company, we have been analyzing various Afrocentric artists all over the world.

Any plan for future collaborations?

Certainly, we look forward to collaborating with other Afrocentric artistes. You will be surprised by the number of artistes based outside Africa with Afrocentric orientation. We are in discussion with a few and very soon we would make the details public.