“We try not to be too specific in the politics of it all, because music travels,” says Stephanus. “Music has its universal passport, it goes everywhere. What we try to do is focus more on social happenings than political happenings, which translates across any border, any language. There’s injustices, there’s equality issues, discrimination between and within races – we’re trying to address it without being too preachy about it. It loses the power when you’re taking the place of the politician and telling everyone what to do.”
The outfit have managed to take their music across Australia and even over to Africa, where they’ve been strongly received, following on Stephanus’ view of music’s universal passport. In light of playing many community festival slots that tend to focus on unity rather than divisive themes, it’s curious to think the band get their own message across while ensuring people still have fun.
“The best way I could explain is – dance, but be careful, there’s broken glass on the floor,” says Stephanus. “It’s very easy to have fun and forget what’s happening, or even be blindfolded to the whole thing – just being like, ‘Oh there’s a party over here. Everyone’s having fun,’ while a fire burns across the street and nobody calls the fire department to put it out. It’s about having that balance of being aware of what’s going on, knowing things aren’t going to change immediately but gradually. Everyone is mindful of the issues, so it’s easier to prevent them from going on for too much longer as opposed to having the one group of people trying to reiterate the same point over and over. People get sick of it, they turn around and say ‘Yeah yeah we heard it’.”
The Darebin Music Feast lies around the corner, and TPOAO are locked in to play the Hello Sunday opening show. Darebin council has made noticeable efforts in the community to draw people together, be it through the Feast or promises to stamp out bigotry. Afrobeat’s origins tie into the theme of oneness in much the same way.
“In terms of where the origin of the music is from, Afrobeat and Fela Kuti, it’s really about giving people a sense of power,” says Stephanus. “Not a false sense, but giving them the opportunity realise we’re all human beings. We have the power to bring each other together, and music is the strongest glue ever. In terms of music, everyone has their differences but we can come together and find a common ground. Once you find that, a dialogue can begin. We sit down and discuss, we may not agree on things but we can find a way to dance without stepping on each other’s toes.”
The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra contains over 16 members, including guests from time to time. With a lineup so large and members of varying backgrounds, it’s easy to question if that musical glue that Stephanus believes in translates to the band itself.
“There’s so many incarnations of the band,” Stephanus says. “There’s the Public Opinion Six, the Bombay Royale – about three or four members play in the Orchestra, it’s almost a community when the orchestra comes together. Everyone has the experience of coming together with totally different musical styles, so when we come together it’s easier to gel – you sort of know what vibe the other person is going for and it makes it easier to create something new.”
BY THOMAS BRAND
