Brothers hit right note
Evolution of the Voqa ni Delai Dokidoki
THE village of Nasau on Koro Island in the Lomaiviti Group is famous for its bands of men with harmonious voices.
Back in the day, there was a band in the village that was so well known, the men in the village had to compete for a spot to sing in it.
The Voqa kei Nasau group was a huge band and could be considered as the mother of all singing groups that came out of Nasau Village.
According to singer Temo Soko Lote, there were grades for all voices in the band with so many singers so his late father, musician and composer Master Etonia Lote decided to branch out and form his own band, the Voqa ni Delai Dokidoki.
From a young age, Temo Soko would sit in with all the bands’ sigidrigi (sing and drink) sessions, imitating the singers and strumming on his mother’s wooden comb as if it were a guitar.
“I used to get scolded by my father for staying awake listening to them sing when I should have been in bed asleep,” he said.
In 1981, the band won the ‘best performer award’ in a national competition. Master Lote would also win best composer a year later.
After some years together, the band split up as each member went his own way.
“In 1988, we moved to Wakaya where my dad would form another band called Sinukala kei Nadakeke.
“By then, my younger brothers and I would sit around playing music and singing together.”
The brothers gelled so well together that they were soon invited by friends and families to entertain at functions. They also joined other bands to perform gigs together.
“Our dad saw that we were using Senidawa ni Delaidokidoki as our stage name, which we took off another band from our village after they had finished recording an album in Suva.
“He then decided to revive the old band name, but with us youngsters as band members, and he would compose songs for us.”
The trio recorded their first album with Manu Railoa in 2001, and Au Biuti Viti, the first song from that album to hit the airwaves. The response from the public was tremendous.
“It was scary as we would literally be mobbed by fans wherever we went.”
After cutting a second album, the boys went through some difficult times and severed ties with their father and composer, so their uncle, Kitione Vunisasari, stepped in to compose their songs.
“As with all good things, there will always be something bad accompanying it, and we also cut ties with our uncle and started composing our own songs. We also opened our own studio known as Dokidoki Productions.”
The boys would later be reunited with their father, helping them put finishing touches on several of their songs. After recording eight albums, the youngest of the brothers, Vilimone Lote, asked his siblings to release him from the band because he had found a new commitment to God.
“We sat down together and agreed that to keep the family intact, we would adhere to our youngest brother’s wishes.”
After eight years of inactivity, they found out that they had been invited to a Viti FM-sponsored concert. The invitation had come out of the blue and Vilimone encouraged his two elder brothers to pursue it further.
“This was when we started recording again, cutting albums nine in 2015 and ten in 2017, and we also realised that the band culture in Fiji was slowly changing.”
Today, the original boy band has changed and adapted, to live up to the expectations of their fans.
By then, my younger brothers and I would sit around playing music and singing together
– Temo Soko Lote