Art from all angles
ENYAN artist Silas Miami has a broad repertoire that encompasses performance, photography, filmmaking and music.
The repertoire developed over time as a result of his insatiable desire to learn new things and experiment with any creative discipline he’s exposed to.
When he was growing up, he didn’t know what he wanted to do, but because he loved “performing” so much he gravitated towards musical theatre, which opened him to other mediums.
He did a lot of music festivals at school before becoming involved in musical productions after finishing school.
At 19 he joined a cabaret group touring the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Germany.
He came to Cape Town to study at Afda in 2014 and recently graduated top of his class, cum laude. Now he’s at UCT studying for honours in film and media, something he describes as a “phenomenal experience”.
He compares the music scene in South Africa to his experience in Kenya: “It’s slightly different here, more niche. South Africa’s music industry is significantly developed. I’d argue that it’s the most developed on the continent.
“So there’s that atmosphere of advancement. But Nairobi has a wonderful vibe for live performances, which is what comprises the industry – people going out to watch shows.”
Although Miami is still based in Cape Town, he often finds himself back home since he recently took to plotting a series and co-writing two feature films there.
Asked how he became involved
Kin his current range of disciplines, he says: “They all sort of happened organically. I started off doing music, then got picked for the cabaret show travelling across Europe for a few months and when I came home I decided to go and learn music and performance. “Somehow I ended up in Cape Town and studied film. So everything I do sort of compliments the others. If it’s music, I’ll do my own photography and end up shooting my own music videos. They all found a way towards each other.
“Music was my first love, but they all complement each other, so I don’t have one favourite and I do make time for each.
“For the next month I’ll focus on a couple of photography projects, the month after that I’ll focus on film projects and then the month after that I’ll be writing and going to the studio to record new music. Each discipline gets enough attention.”
Right now he’s in the film phase but also concerned with his new single, Hard to Love. The song came about because he was told once that he was a difficult person to love; he wanted to unpack that and do some introspection.
The video for the track, released recently, sees Miami explore his film-making range with a dark and powerful portrayal.
“I like telling filmic stories. I’m not a fan of traditional music videos with people singing in the background.
“I make it a point to not be in my music videos – except for the first and that will probably never happen again.
“I like being behind the camera conceptualising things, directing, writing scripts.” He’s doing it all.