The Landroval Beacon

• Watambu
  by Aedon

  Band Showcase:
  Watambu

  Known for their danceable Island sounds and colorful costumes, Watambu took Bree by storm, and now play at shows and venues across middle Earth, always drawing a crowd.

  I recently had a chance to sit down with the band and ask a few questions.

  Q. Let us get the most obvious question out of the way first. How did you choose your band’s name?

  Mabassah: We originally wanted Wakanda as our kin and band name, but that was already taken. So I looked at some of the town names in various regions of Africa and adapted one of those to create Watambu.

  Kabibe: We have always been Watambu since our start last June 2023. It is named in honor of our home island. It also represents who we are—a Jamaican Calypso-Reggae-Ska-Soca style band.

  Q. What prompted you to settle on your island sound?

  Mabassah: With the introduction of more ethnic characters to LOTRO, I decided to create a Black band, thus the idea of Jamaican-type island sounds was perfect for us. Also, the background of our lost island home of Watambu was a huge factor in deciding on the island sound.

  Q. Of any of the locations in Middle Earth, is there a special spot you love to play, and why?

  Mabassah: There are a couple of places we love to play but our favorite is the Concerning Hobbits Pub Party which is a good 2 to 2-1/2 hours of nothing but our songs. It is so much easier to get a good taste of what we have to offer out to an audience. And the Hobbit audience is so attentive and appreciative of our music. We just love them to pieces.

  Ubuntoo: Our second favorite is Ales & Tales events. It is an honor to be accepted to play at those events. We can play for an hour there and the audience is more diverse and they all seem to enjoy our music very much, from what we read of their comments.

  Kwame: We have also performed at Weatherstock and that was fun but we were nervous doing that because it was a much larger event with a broader reaching arm of audience from many servers. We have Greenfields coming up the end of April and we will enjoy that and still be nervous! We play from 2:30-3:00pm on Sunday, April 28th.

  Q. What would you say is your most requested song?

  Mabassah: We have never had a song request! I don’t think many people know the names of our songs because they are so different from the songs other bands play. Everyone seems to really enjoy everything we play.

  Jamaila: But I have heard some people comment while we are playing a few of the songs that they especially loved: “Khaled Wharan Wharan” and “Kana Ma Plantation”. We will always play those two since they have been commented on so favorably.

  Imamu: Our songs are so lively, fun, and frisky, (sometimes exotic) who wouldn’t like our selections! Besides Calypso, Reggae, Ska, and Soca, we play some smooth, relaxing sounds to soothe your soul.

  Q. Do you have a favorite of all the songs you play?

  Mabassah: My favorite is “Dance Yrself Clean” it is so interestingly awesome! The variety of instruments we use in this one gets your feet tapping and your body moving.

  Ubuntoo: I like “Taboo” because it is exotic. I feel like I’m on a magic carpet or being entertained at a special feast by a Sultan.

  Imamu: “Tribal Dance” is my favorite. It is based on a techno version but still very jungle-island-like. I can really play my drums in this one!

  Kabibe: I get to sing to “Calypso & Rum” which I love. And who doesn’t love to sing and drink rum?

  Jamaila: I love the beautiful song, “Black Orpheus”. It is from an old movie (“What’s a movie?” people of ME ask) by that name. It makes you want to dance closely and romantically with someone special.

  Kwame: ”Kana Ma Plantation” is my favorite. It reminds me so much of the huge plantation on our home island that provided food for all of our peoples.

  Q. What would you say is your favorite style of music to play?

  Mabassah: Well, everything we play is pretty much island vacation music; which is, of course, our favorite kind of music!

  It hasn’t been easy finding midis for our genre of music. We’ve been lucky finding what we have so far. I will keep hunting for more, but it is difficult not knowing actual names of the songs. I’ve seen artists listed but haven’t found many of their music available as midis.

  I’d like to find some traditional African music with more drums and great beat to add to our playlist. I found some AfroPro musicians and bands online but still hard to get midis. I’ve even searched for music midis for percussion bands with not much luck.

  Q. What would you say is the trickiest aspect of your style of music to play?

  Mabassah: It’s tricky getting steel drums and marimbas to sound right in the game. We’ve played around with combinations of instruments until we feel good about those. Wooden flutes are also tricky and we still haven’t found a good combo for those so have to be satisfied with the regular flute.

  Jamaila: We have been experimenting more with the Student FX Fiddle and the Pibgorn and found using those can give us some interesting enhancements to our music.
  8-With more and more bands forming all the time, do you get asked for advice often?

  Kabibe: We have never been asked for advice. We are very new at this and we go to others and ask for help. All the bands are comprised of very knowledgeable people and this is a wonderful community with very kind, helpful, and generous people.

  Imamu: If we were asked to help, it would be like the blind leading the blind!

  Q. What one piece of advice would you give new bands on Landy?

  Mabassah: I would say to experiment with the instruments when you are converting your midis into abcs in Maestro. We have discovered some interesting techniques and combinations by doing that. Not every track shown has to be the instrument it calls for. Try different ones. Take your time. Perhaps make 2 or 3 versions and listen to them in ABC Player and see how they sound. Then take them in game and ask for another band member or two to listen and see what they think. The possibilities are boundless.

  Q. Last Question, what do you see in the future for LOTRO music and what would you like to see done for the music community? Is there anything else you would like us all to know about Watambu?

  Mabassah: I see more toons stopping to listen and dance and they become interested in what’s going on. Then they become curious about playing music. I see more bands springing up. Although Bree, Michal Delving, and Hobbiton are favorite band playing locations, I think more bands may spring up in different areas around Middle Earth. That would be so much fun to hear wonderful music all throughout the land.

  Ubuntoo: I think the Discord channels with all the music resources have been a huge benefit to the music community. This was a great idea.

  Kabibe: Mabassah said we use combinations of instruments to make steel drums and the marimba, but it would be wonderful to have SSC give us a real steel drum and marimba to us to acquire at a festival! Then we’d have more tracks instead of tying up two for one sound.

  Kwame: About us! Watambu is the name of the paradise island where we come from. We would not have left since it was so lovely and our families and friends were there. But the island sunk into the sea after a newly developed volcano erupted. We escaped in small boats. Many people perished or were lost at sea.

  Jamaila: We were lucky to find the very welcoming land of Middle Earth. We have noticed more people from our island (other players) have arrived in Middle Earth as well. We’ve seen them in many places already. Middle Earth people have been so friendly and kind to us.

  Imamu: The Landroval Beacon is a really nice way to learn more about the bands. We are very honored to be one of the Showcase Bands on the front page. Thank you!

  So, there you have it, Watambu in a nut shell. I hope you are enjoying these interviews. If there is a band you would like to see us spotlight, please contact the Beacon or send a message directly to me.

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