Reuben Koroma is the founder and leader of the inspirational band Refugee All Stars from Sierra Leone. Two American filmmakers, Zach Niles and Banker White, discovered the incipient band writing songs with an acoustic guitar in a Guinean refugee camp. Their moving film, “Refugee All Stars,” follows the group’s evolution into a spirited electric combo that first entertained the residents of refugee camps, and then sought to persuade them to return home when the fighting ended in 2003. Fast forward to 2006, and the band is touring the United States bringing their story, and their winning blend of palm wine, reggae, baskeda, and gumbe music to audiences they could have hardly imagined in the nightmare from which they emerged. Banning Eyre caught up with them at Central Park Summerstage in New York in June, 2006, and had this conversation with Koroma just before their show.
Banning Eyre: Reuben, start by telling me a little about what your life was like before the war, before all this happened. Were you a musician then?
Reuben Koroma: I was a musician before the war. I’ve been playing music at first with a band called Sierra Wailers. And then later on, we tried to develop another group, because my first band’s singer did not allow me to sing. He just liked to sing himself. And I knew I was writing some songs, so I felt deprived. So I was looking for freedom, and trying to develop myself. Then Ashade Pearce, the guitar player, and I came together and we said, “OK, let’s try to develop our own group.” Then we made a group which was called The Messiahs. That was around 1994, 95.
B.E: In Freetown?
R.K.: In Freetown. And so, then came a professional cover musician by the name of Mako. He bought some instruments, but he did not like the name, the Messiahs, he said the name is not good. Since he brought the instruments, he has power, so he asked to change our name to The Emperors. So, while I was playing with The Emperors, the war came, and I was separated from the rest of the other members. Myself and my wife Grace escaped. Then we went to Guinea.
B.E: You were in Freetown, and the war basically arrived in the city? How did you get out?
R.K.: Ah-ha. Well, in 1997 when the EFRC government was in power, they announced their cabinet. I can still remember the date: it was on the second of June. They announced their government, saying that Johnny Paul Koroma is the president and Fode Sankoh is the vice president. Before that date we had many foreign military forces coming to the Lungi Airport; I was living by then by the Lungi Airport. They had to fight against the rebels, I mean to get them out of the airport so that they can get reinforcement. That was the first battle between the rebels and government forces. Yeah, it was not easy. During about twenty hours’ of fighting, we were indoors when they were fighting, shooting, bombing, trying to get the rebels out of the airport. And then the officers came. They started knocking the doors for people to come out. And when we came out, all the men were arrested, about 48 of us, and brought to the abyss, and then we were tortured. Seriously! I was asked to do squats. Yeah, squats, for one hour. And then later, we were asked to lie on the ground and look at the sun.
Then there was a commander who just said, “All these guys are rebels. You must put them to sleep.” Then, one sergeant say, “No, we did not capture them with arms, and it’s better to ask the military who are here. If they are rebels, then we can kill them.” So there was a Ghanaian soldier there who said, “All these people are civilians. So we should let them go." So that's how we were freed. And so from that time, I just told my wife, "Let's quit this place." There was no vehicle, so we had to walk about 36 miles on foot to a place called Babala. Then we took boats and crossed over to Kase. From Kase, it was just about 11 miles, and then we arrived in Guinea. My first camp was Dakagbe Camp.
B.E: So, by the time you met Zach, what we see in the beginning of the film, you were at your third or fourth camp, right?
R.K.: My fourth camp, Sembakounya.
B.E: And did you have the band already by then?
R.K.: We started the band in 1998. That was when I was staying Kalia Camp.
B.E: So the whole band moved from camp to camp?
R.K.: Yes.
B.E: What was the very beginning like? What gave you the inspiration and spirit to actually form a band under those circumstances?
R.K.: Well the thing is, I had nothing to do. In the morning I would just sit down, or go to the center were all the refugees would just be talking. I'm not doing anything. But also, I saw that many people were not happy. There were no entertainment centers by then. And there were a lot of people. So I just thought, "Well, actually, if I start to play music here, people will really feel well." So the first person I met was Franco. Because I came to the camp without an instrument. I'm not instrumentalists anyway. So when I met Franco, I said, “Franco, it's nice to come together. Let's play music.”
B.E: Franco is the guitar player in the film. Is he here?
R.K.: No, he is not here right now. So he started playing. He plays the guitar, then I sing. That's how we started. And when we started, we saw that, actually, people were really happy. They appreciate. And then, we have some centers that we used to call Poyo Bars, where they sell palm one. So we used to go there to entertain people. When people are drinking, and relaxing, we play. There was no money, so if we played, they would give us poyo. We like he poyo. And so it was kind of a living. Me and Franco, we were very serious over the matter. At first, my wife was not happy. She didn't want me to go sing in remote places. But I was so stubborn, because I like playing. And later, she came to understand. When the camp chairman started seeing that, well, it is important to incorporate music into meetings, so that people would come. So anytime the camp chairman scheduled a meeting, then we were invited. As soon as we played, many refugees would come, and it would be a successful meeting.
B.E: Did they help you get instruments and equipment, and things like that?
R.K.: Yes. That was in one camp called Sembakounya. There was a Canadian NGO called CECI. They were doing well for the refugees, and were very important for meetings, and for other activities, especially for sensitizations. If people wanted to sensitize about AIDS, about cleaning the environment, we were very powerful instrument. We enable people to come and listen, and so that is how CECI said, "Okay, we are going to buy instruments for you." And so, they bought two speakers, one PA, one amplifier, no drums, and two guitars, and two mics. We were very happy. Those were the instruments that we used to play and entertain the camp.
B.E: And that is pretty much the state you were in one Zach arrived, right?
R.K.: Yes.
B.E: What did you think about these Americans showing up to make a film about you?
R.K.: Well, we feel as if something strange is happening into our lives. We feel relieved, because we have been looking for an opportunity. We really want our art work to be known by other people in the world. And so, when these guys met us, and suggested this idea, we said this is a very big chance. And so we were very much serious about it.
B.E: At the end of the film, you go back to Freetown, but we aren't really sure how things will go there. Now that you are living there, how do you find Freetown?
R.K.: Well, Freetown isn't bad right now. There is security. The only problem in Freetown is that things are very expensive. Many people are not working. There is no electricity. Most of the roads are still not yet repaired. Many houses are still not repaired, because people don't have money. Those are the problems. Lodging problems. Food problems. Yes, but for security, you can travel all over the country.
B.E: That is certainly something. Do you have hope that these other problems of old eventually be solved?
R.K.: Well, I have hopes. But it will not just happen automatically. With time, I believe that we are going to get everything again. Sierra Leone is going to develop.
B.E: Is your band popular back home? Do you get a lot of work?
R.K.: The band is popular, but as I told you, there's a problem for money affairs in Sierra Leone right now. Entertainment in general is not too fine anyway in Sierra Leone at the moment. Because people are thinking about repairing their houses, and so they cannot go out on the town for just pleasure.
B.E: I can imagine. You know, in almost 20 years of producing Afropop radio programs, we have heard very little music from Sierra Leone. Abdul Teejay and a few others in London, some of the old palm wine music, but little else. It seems like you have a special opportunity now, as a band based in Sierra Leone but somewhat known in the world. Others might really be inspired by your success. Is that something you think about, stimulating the local music scene back home?
R.K.: Yes. That is one of my objectives, because right now Sierra Leone's mostly known abroad because of the war. I want people to know Sierra Leone because of its powerful music, powerful cultures in our country. One of our traditional musics, baskeda, is purely roots. My father was a musician. He used to play this kind of music. But it is just similar to reggae, one beat. This was in the late sixties, the seventies, up to the late seventies. Then with Western influences, this music dies off.
B.E: Are there some songs on your CD and that style?
R.K.: Yes, like [SINGS "Bramani Waki Waki Waki"]. You know, this music is kind of playful. Formerly, you could use this kind of music to sing against people who are doing bad things. Like this song I have just song, it talks about women who move from this family. You get two sons here, and then you marry another husband and get three sons there, then marry another husband and get one son. So, anytime there is something that is not good for the community, people will make a song of it, and then when they are playing the baskeda, they will sing it. Even these chiefs. If the chief is very bad, they will sing against him, but the chief will not do anything because this is a social time. So people have the chance to speak, to express their grief during that time.
B.E: That is interesting. During that time, people have a certain license to speak freely.
R.K.: Yes. They will not be in trouble that day. They will not. That’s baskeda. It’s really similar to reggae. The instrumentation is some drums, which we call sagba. We have a big drum. That's the bass drum.
B.E: You have some palm line music on the CD. Tell me about come one music.
R.K.: Palm wine music is some kind of a freestyle music in our tradition. It's just to express happiness when you get the poyo. And to express the poyo feeling, you just sing what you like. You have a traditional instrument, sagba,, kongoma, kele, agogo. You can have acoustic guitars.
B.E: What is the name of that big thumb piano that we see in the film?
R.K.: That’s kongoma. We have society people in Sierra Leone. We call them oge. They wear masks. They dance. And they use that instrument. We also have a kind of society called alyobo, and their music is called kabe. They use this kongoma to sing. These are the kind of people who are haunting the witch people.
B.E: So this isn’t recreation anymore. This is serious.
R.K.: Yes. Secret society. They are haunting the witch people. They call it kabe.
B.E: Is this associated with a particular ethnic group?
R.K.: Yes, the Temne people. And I am a Temne. But we don’t play kabe. We play palm wine.
B.E: Palm wine and baskeda and reggae. What else?
R.K.: Gumbe music. Gumbe comes from Kriol people, the returned slaves. You remember that after the abolition of the slave trade, some of the slaves were brought to Sierra Leone, and they came with this culture. But it is all like African tradition, because they have the sanga. They have the same instruments incorporated, like the kongoma, the kele. This type of music does not need any Western instrumentation. I mean, they just flog the drums, and the singing goes on. And this one really allows more room not just for specialist vocalists. Everybody can sing. So it allows the voice of the crowd. Gumbe is very popular in Sierra Leone. They played at festivals, for marriage parties, for birthdays, every type of celebration. In Freetown, you always see that the gumbe people are hired. We have many groups in Sierra Leone who play gumbe. It's a very popular music.
B.E: Are there some gumbe songs here?
R.K.: Yes, like “Kele Mani” is a gumbe song. That means “war is not good." In fact, most of our music, this African music, is gumbe. We just transfer it onto the Western instrumentations. What we used to play on the drums, we just transfer it to the bass and the guitars. But it is purely gumbe. “Soda Soap” is gumbe.
B.E: What is that song about?
R.K.: Soda soap is locally made soap. But you know, people didn't like it. They said it’s harsh. It gives skin disease. It is very local. People don't like it. People overlook it and buy Palmolive, they buy Lux, they by Rexona. But when the war came, it was something different, because ships were not coming to our country. All shops were locked. So you could see that even the rich people they started washing with soda soap, because it is the only common soap but you can get. We can make it ourselves. So there's a lesson behind that. People should learn to respect what they can create for themselves, because it will cost them less. It is less expensive. Yeah.
B.E: That’s a gumbe song. What about the song “Pat Malonthone.”
R.K.: Yes. “Pat Malonthone” is a different style. That’s the gbute vange beat. Gbute vange comes from the Mende people, when they are doing their celebrations. They play that. We use it on “Pat Malonthone,” and also “Ya N’Digba.”
B.E: What’s that one about?
R.K.: That's the name of my mother, but “Ya N’Digba” is a title name. A titled woman.
B.E: The band you are not touring with is not exactly the same as the band in the film. For example, in the film we learned that Mohamed decided to stay in the. Is he still there?
R.K.: Yes.
B.E: And Franco is not here. So tell me about the band now. What did you have to do to pull together in touring version of the Refugee All-Stars?
R.K.: Well, it is because of the expenditures of the tour. We are desperately looking for money, because we have a lot of things to do back home. So he had to reduce the number. That's why you cannot see the other members. For Mohamed, I too am really worried. The last time I saw him was when we were coming to America the second time, in February [2006]. I spoke to him, and he said he will go back to Sierra Leone. And I promised to see him as soon as I returned from America. But what happened was Guinea was not stable, and so we had to fly from Senegal. Since then I did not see him. However, there is somebody who is taking care of him, a UNCR worker. That's a man who likes him so much and is always monitoring his life. I have been talking to him by cell phone, and the man is still reluctant to go back to Sierra Leone. But I trust that if I see him personally, I will take him back to Sierra Leone.
B.E: Do think people like him would be better off if they did go back home? Because what has got a happened to them if they stay in those camps? Nothing, right?
R.K.: Yeah, really, but even ourselves, we were so much reluctant to go back home, owing to the kinds of things we saw before we left. We did not trust even the peace. But sometimes, it's nice to make some adventure. So when we got back, we saw that, “It’s was better here.” This is the kind of thing that has happened with him. And so I believe that if I see him, I will be able to take him back home.
B.E: I hope so. Let's just talk of home at about reggae, your discovery of that music, and why you embraced it.
R.K.: Well, I like reggae because of the baskeda influence. They are related. That's one. And two, I like reggae because they have too much respect for Africa. There trying to change the world. They are against war and brutality. They like peace in the world. This is why I like reggae. All musicians are peaceful. Because I know war situation, you cannot make money, so this is why I like reggae. I personally like Bob Marley, because he is a reggae exponent. And he it's too much respect for Africa. He was trying to get Africans hope, so that the African will really want to develop. That's why like reggae.
B.E: Before the war, when you had this group with Ashade Pearce called The Emperors, did you play reggae then?
R.K.: Yes, we always played reggae. We played copyrights too. We played Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy Cliff. All Sierra Leoneans like reggae. Our country's English-speaking, so everything that the English people like, and the Americans, Sierra Leone will admire.
B.E: So if I go to Freetown now, and I turn on the radio for a week at listen to the music that's being played, what will I hear?
R.K.: Well, you're going to hear a lot of reggae, a lot of African beat, and then rap too. For Sierra Leoneans right now, this rap music is more popular than any other kind. Even then reggae. And most of the people who are coming up, they are try to imitate the Americans. So they rap in Kriol. They rap in Mende and Limba and everything.
B.E: How do you feel about that?
R.K.: I'm very happy. I like all kinds of music. I like rap too. We have one boy who is playing with us. He has that feel. That's why always introduced him as “the modern man.”
B.E: That's Black Nature?
R.K.: Black Nature. He is a rapper. And he is really doing well in Freetown. You know, the Refugee All Stars, we are live musicians. We play with instruments, but sometimes they just do playback, so then we just send Black Nature to represent us. The last time, he won an award, Best Reggae.
B.E: Do they play your records on the radio and Sierra Leone?
R.K.: Yes. Especially “Soda Soap.” “Soda Soap” is very, very popular in Sierra Leone.
B.E: Are there other groups in Sierra Leone now who you feel are also trying to make a new future for live music?
R.K.: Well, we have groups, but actually, most of the groups are not producing their own music. We have bands, but they are not producing music. They just play copyrights, a lot of them. The only people who are trying to produce their own music are single musicians like Daddy Saj, like Emerson, who sang “Bor bo Belly.” Like Succulent. Many, many artists. We have about 600 artists in Sierra Leone. We have little groups who just produce music. But they don't play live music. But considering they live musicians, the bands that are existing, like Afro Kumbo Kings, they really play, but they do not produce albums. They do not write songs. They just play like Bob Marley's music, Jimmy Cliff's music. You know? Also Steady Bongo is doing well. Steady Bongo also has his own group. He plays live music. I think he is the man who is doing like us. Because he has his own songs, and he sings traditional music. Yup.
B.E: But other than you guys and Steady Bongo, there are not very many guys playing with a lot band, making new music, they sing tradition and modern?
R.K.: No. Except Steady Bongo. Steady Bongo plays traditional music. All the other guys are coming up, just single guys, and most of them are rappers. Most of them.
B.E: Now these rappers, they don't cover other people songs, do they? They rap their own words, right?
R.K.: Yes. They talk their own words.
B.E: But still, that's not the same thing as arranging music for a band like you do.
R.K.: That's right.
B.E: So how do you like touring in America? I understand that you are just down the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee. How was that?
R.K.: Fantastic! That was the kind of show I like. The people were many. It was crowded. And they really enjoyed our music. Musicians like the crowd. When we see the crowd, it gets us more inspired to play the music.
B.E: One of our engineers was down there and recorded your set. He said it was really great. I'm looking forward to hearing from myself now. Thanks a lot for taking the time to chat, and good luck with everything.
R.K.: Thank you, Mr. Banning.
Reuben Koroma-Refugee Alls Stars-2006
Interview by Banning Eyre
Central Park, New York City,2006
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