In Italian, the group's name means "tail" but spiritually, according to Yolanda Yawa, CODA is like a code of belief. "We want to travel the world and be ambassadors for South Africa and bring people together with our music," the lead singer said, as her massive round earrings flicked with every word.
Exciting fusion
I met up with CODA as they were gearing up to dive into the sea of green-clad, rowdy revellers at the Irish Village to join in the celebrations for St Patrick's Day. Organised by music management agency, The Fridge, the band from South Africa are in Dubai for a couple of weeks to do various shows to delight expat South Africans with sounds from home, but also anyone else who is open to listen to something different — something, which Nick Matthews, the band's DJ, describes as "unique".
"With CODA, we're definitely pushing a unique sound. It has a lot of South African influences. It's quite a nice thing because each person in the group has their own take. It's all based on their education and their perception of music," he said as he went on to describe the various facets of the band: singer Yawa, electric cello player Carol Thorns, Gabriella Rivera on the electric violin, Judy Brown the saxophonist and himself, the DJ.
All these different instruments create an exciting fusion of jazz, dance, gospel and classical — "Afrofusion", as Yawa likes to describe it.
Signature sound
The band, which was originally founded by Thorn, has been on the music circuit for almost three years now. They have played for the likes of Nelson Mandela, among others, and were in the UAE last year to perform at the opening of Dubai Festival City. They released their debut album, Believe, in December 2006, which, according to Yawa, is doing very well. Now the group is working on their next album, which Yawa hopes will give CODA a signature sound.
"The first one [album] was more like people coming together and putting their talents together and yeah, it was more experimental.
But because we worked with lots of different producers, it didn't give us that ultimate sound. Now that we're working with one producer, at least we'll be able to achieve that," she said while explaining that she sings in both English and Xhosa — the latter, a tribal language in South Africa, is pronounced with a deep-sounding click of the tongue.
Afrofusion beats with tongue clicks might be intriguing enough, but the visual aspect of the band is just as enticing, as Rivera pointed out: "The band is very exciting to watch because of all these different instruments and Yolanda is an amazing dancer as well," she said.
"And it also works because we're always stylish. You won't find us looking disorganised in our clothing," Yawa laughed. The singer styles the band herself and also designs clothes and accessories (hence the mega earrings).
"The design is Afrochic, but it's not in-your-face-African. It's still sexy and just shows that we're proud to be diverse and African," she said.
Love
To Matthews, being an artist is something he's very proud of. With his funky hats and stunning turquoise blue eyes he certainly looks the part of a star. But it's his inner self that shines through more than anything when he speaks about being a musician.
"I use music as a means of communication. It's just like a language," he said. So, what is he trying to say? "To try and not go too deep — it's love. Love is something that has some kind of harmony in it. It's something that everybody understands. If I have the ability to express love to people and they receive that and give it back to me, it's a beautiful thing. As a human being, that's the greatest gift that you can give to anybody," Matthews said.
Well, he's definitely giving and giving. Apart from playing with CODA, he is also involved in two other bands and, to top it all, the 27-year-old is currently developing a social programme for children in Capetown.
"It's still in the embryonic stage at the moment. I try to use music as a medium, as a canvas, to teach kids from negative or underprivileged backgrounds fundamental principles of discipline, respect, interaction and creativity. It's a calling that I have in my life, apart from being an artist," he said.
But his first calling is CODA, which in musical terms means the finale of a piece of music, "where all the themes are brought together," Rivera explained.
Tingly bit
So what is this finale? What is the X-factor… the tingly bit that makes CODA so unique?
"It's a big canvas and right now we're very poised to blossom as a group," Matthews said. "I think CODA has an incredible context. The fabric of what it's made of has this intricate tapestry. If it were to be made into a carpet, it would probably be the most colourful and diverse carpet in the world," he said.
Walking on eggshells
Apartheid might be over, but South Africa is still struggling with crime, racial discrimination and poverty. But for CODA, singing about politics is something they are avoiding at the moment.
"It's a very ‘eggshell' situation right now. Look, I've been in situations where I've said to people: ‘You know what, I don't care what colour skin you are, where you've come from or what you've been through, because I respect you for who you are, and that is a human being'. And they find that an insult because they feel that I should respect what they've been through and take heed to what's happened," Nick Mattews, the band's DJ, explained.
"It's a very fine line that you play. It's a difficult animal, you know? I feel that to fight something like this, you have to start at the grassroots, and that is one of the reasons why I've channelled my energy through working with children," he said.
Check it out
What: CODA live in concert.
When: Tonight.
Where: Madinat Amphitheatre, Dubai.
Time: 8pm.
Info: For more information contact shelley@thefridge.ae
