Ebele Ezeamakam
whose stage name is Ebele the flutist has become a household name in the music
industry in a short time. She is a gospel artiste who plays the flute to add
zing to her performance. In this chat with www.angeladaviesblog.blogspot.com
she talked about the flute, music
and other issues.
Growing up
Although she
hails from Anambra State, she grew up in Benin, Edo State. From a Christian
home, she is the second child in a family of six. Ebele revealed that her love
for music which has become her career started when she was about 15 years old.
Music
“For me, music
started way back when I was about 15 years old. That was when I also began
playing the flute which was like a hobby for me. My parents exposed me to
music. It has its background in our family. Ever since, it has never left me. I
have always been in the choir singing as well as playing the flute. My hobby
became my passion because I grew up with the flute. It has always been with me
though I didn’t study music. I studied Accounting and then Business
Administration as a postgraduate course. I can say that my hobby became my
passion and today my passion is a career for me,” Ebele disclosed.
The flute and music
There are
different musical instruments she could choose to play, so why opt for the
flute and what does it mean to her? “The flute is like a bird and because I
sing very high soprano, I wanted something that would complement my voice. It
is a complex instrument and not so common like other types of instrument hence
it gives me an edge to be different from every other instrumentalist. It is an
instrument I use to interpret myself. First of all, I represent myself as a
gospel artiste with a unique brand. Sometimes, the flute expresses what the
voice cannot vocally convey. Playing the flute helps people read a lot of
things about your expression. For me, it is another means of interpreting what
God has placed inside me. I have heard people tell me that the flute should be
left for the male folk but I have come to realise that what a man can do, a
woman can even do better. When a woman puts her mind and interest in a thing,
you cannot tell how far she could go doing it. So, it is not a man’s thing. I
am proving to the world today that a woman can actually play the flute
beautifully,” she emphasised.
She spoke
animatedly about a foreigner who inspired her to play the flute. “I was
inspired to play the flute by a Philippine lady who normally came and trained
us back then in my family church. She plays the flute and the keyboard
beautifully well, I fell in love with her as a small girl and that inspired me
to play the flute,” she recalled.
Her singles
Interestingly,
Ebele who plays different genres of gospel songs already has three singles and
they are enjoying air play. They are ‘Jawa Chineke’ which is a high praise
song, ‘If you don’t know’, a classic song and ‘Oganma’, which is African jazz.
“The three songs are not the same but you can read me from them. Even my
forthcoming album is about 10 tracks and the songs are not the same. I sing
different genre of gospel music so that anyone can get acquainted and like the
songs. I intend to drop the album before the end of the year,” she said.
Role model
On her role
model in the industry, Ebele disclosed: “My role model is Mike Aremu; he plays
the sax very well and he is well known in the industry. I want to play my flute
the way Mike Aremu plays his sax. Aside from being a gospel artiste, when he
plays, he carries the audience along with just playing the sax.”
Starting music as a career
When she thought
of giving up her job and taking to music, did she ever think she would be
recognised as a flutist? “When I was planning to start my recording, my boss
asked me what an accountant has got to do with music? He said he would advise
me to travel abroad and do my recording because playing the flute does not work
in Nigeria no matter how good I was in playing it. But the truth about it is
that when God has given you a passion for a thing, He gives you the grace to
drive it. I have not seen any gospel artiste playing the flute. I knew God told
me to do this, so I stepped out in faith. Today, here I am performing at
different events and people are carried away by what they see. They are seeing
a woman playing the flute and doing it very well. It shows that I am doing what
God wants me to do.”
Gospel artiste who feature in secular songs
About gospel
artistes who feature in secular music, Ebele said that in all we do, it is the
vision and motive behind it that really matters as those are the things God
watches. “What I want to say is that I think in all we do, it is the vision and
motive behind it that really matter and those are the things God watches. If
you feature in secular songs because you have a good motive to influence people
positively and also make the name of God to be praised, then it is fine. But
when you collaborate or feature in secular songs so that with the influence of
that musician you can be known, then, it is wrong. Our motive really matters in
all that we do,” she disclosed.
Since she spoke
about motive as a basis, can she feature someone like D’banj in any of her
songs? “Music for me is to influence the young generation to do positive things
with their lives. If I have to feature D’banj in any of my songs, it means he
is going to do something that will positively influence the young people and
the society. But I won’t do a video with him like some of the ones I see where
young ladies are almost naked. That is why I said motive is important,” Ebele
added.
Motivation
It is not
unusual for people to have someone or something which motivates them in life.
For Ebele, she declared that success motivates her. “One of the things that
motivate me is success. I don’t feel that I am already there; I want to be
better than where I have seen myself. Also, I always want to see myself
encourage people. I lost my mum some years ago; she was one of the closest
persons to me. I never knew I would be able to pull through in life when I lost
her. But after her death, God showed me that my mum was not my God but Him. I
found purpose, strength and I became stronger, that is why I encourage young
people that they can achieve what they want if they put their energy,
determination, consistent and have the fear of God. Part of my motivation is to
see how much I can also influence the young people to achieve their God-given
purpose in their lives,” she said.
Reaction of guests to Ebele the flutist
On the reaction
of guests at events when she comes on stage after being introduced as Ebele the
flutist, she stated that they want to see what she has to offer. “From their
facial expression, I could deduce that they want to see what this flutist has
to offer. For instance, when I was introduced at the Zik’s Award at Civic
Centre, and I finished performing, the three governors who were present stood
up and clapped because they enjoyed and appreciated the performance. There was
this expression of ‘so we have this in Nigeria?’ I heard one of the governors
say ‘you only see performances like this when you travel abroad’. I go to
events with my full band and when I am on stage, it is a full artistry because
as I am singing, I am also playing the flute and I have my backup singers. What
made them enjoy the show was that I sang most of the songs traditionallike,
because I celebrate Nigeria and the African culture through the flute,” she
added.
Her style
Defining her
style, Ebele said she likes to look good. “I am very fashionable. I like to
look good; in fact it is one of my personalities. When I am going on stage, I
always like to have this wow kind of look.”
Leisure
During her
leisure, she spends time to rehearse with the flute, read and work out. She
goes out with friends too though she is very selective when it comes to going
out with friends. About her single status, Ebele revealed, “I am not married
but I am trusting God that it will be very soon. My ideal kind of man should be
God-fearing first and have so much pursuit. By having pursuit, I mean
visionoriented, full of vibes, personality and principled,” she said.
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