Having recently started their 34 Music company, multi-platinum musicians, Mi Casa, have got their audience’s number, writes Helen Herimbi
Singer, J’Something, and trumpeter, Mo-T, are sitting on red bar stools inside a mostly grey room where noise reduction sponges spill out of boxes. It’s a rehearsal space adjacent to a studio inside the 34 Music office area. The office is warm-meets-worldly with mahogany, leather and even cowhide as rugs. It was expertly decorated by Cara Watt of The House of Envy, who also had a hand in helping some of the Mi Casa members spruce up their home spaces.
The studio and rehearsal room, though, are the domains of Dr Duda, the producing third of Mi Casa who took carpentry in school and is physically building the spaces to his satisfaction. He comes into the room just as J’Something is explaining how the house band are able to afford to start their own company after just two albums.
“If you saw us driving Porsches, you’d say we’ve got money, but we’re not. We’ve been saving from day one,” says J’Something.
“But do you want the Porsche?” quips Duda.
“I want the Porsche,” exclaims J’Something before the trio erupt into laughter.
They might not have Porsches, but through 34 Music, Mi Casa have something better: an opportunity to be more involved in the business side of the music business.
Having released their self-titled debut album and its follow-up, Su Casa, booked gigs and more through Soul Candi, 34 Music will see the band have more control over their music, imaging and finances.
“We’ve seen what everyone is good at,” says Mo-T, before explaining that he usually takes care of the money matters, while J’Something deals with branding and Dr Duda handles the music production.
“Before we viewed ourselves as a band,” starts J’Something, “we discussed being a brand. We’ve never acted like our roles are just to write and perform music. We’re at this office every day, hustling, making business proposals.”
But this doesn’t mean they are approaching business solo.
“We are still very much a part of Soul Candi,” explains J’Something. “Our next album will have their logo on it. They taught us the ropes and gave us love. It’s not every day that you find a record label that wants to just develop artists. That’s true for Soul Candi. They are not about owning artists.”
Mi Casa are quick to explain that they are not a record company in that they are not looking to develop any artists as yet.
“That may sound selfish,” says J’Something, “and it is. We can’t give them the attention they deserve. But through 34 Music, we are showing up-and-coming artists by example how much effort we are putting into ourselves and what work needs to be done. We’re only just touching the tip of the iceberg of where we want to go.”
One of the places they are ecstatic to go to is back on tour. But this time, the trio will tour Europe and North America from July 15 to August 18: “We’ve got back-to-back shows and they’re paying,” grins J’Something. “Before, promoters would want us to come, but they weren’t paying. But now’s the time to go. We are not (playing) in the ‘world music’ scene, but on the commercial stages. I guess they believed the hype.”
International promoters have finally caught on to what local audiences have known for a long time if the fact that Su Casa is set to gain triple-platinum status soon is anything to go by. This follows the platinum certification of the band’s debut album, which is testament to the idea that even though Mi Casa may now be businessmen, they haven’t neglected the music.
The name of their business venture, 34 Music (pronounced: Three-four Music), is not only J’Something’s lucky number (“he sees it everywhere and always points it out,” laughs Mo-T), but has a musical significance. “Firstly, Mi Casa is three guys ‘4’ (for) music. But also, house music’s time signature is 4/4 so we are three guys on 4 beats.”
And these three guys don’t plan on letting the beat stop. They already teased a snippet of a song they are working on with DJ Tira and Big Nuz via social media and have recorded with Kenyan group, Sauti Sol, and even shot a video for the jam.
“We’re businessmen,” says J’Something, “but when it comes to time to make albums, we become creatives again. It’s all about time management.”
While Dr Duda says they’re “working on a new sound – I don’t even know the name of the style we are doing so I call it ‘something new’,” Mi Casa have not revealed a release date or title for their third album. But armed with some industry acumen in their arsenal, it’s not hard to tell that they mean business.
l Help Mi Casa reach triple platinum status by buying Su Casa.