Sam Oeka

The ‘Kerema’s New Music Nite’ tonight at the Sports Inn in Port Moresby will introduce onto the stage artists from the province who recently joined the mainstream music scene.

These new artists include Brixie, Kol Zone, Sam Oeka, Mangi Mosyork, Alex Anthony and Saix Karu.

Oeka, famous for his Gulf Isapea song, is looking forward to what he says will be a big night.

“I have people from the village calling and texting, telling me they are coming into Port Moresby just for tonight. In fact, many of them have already arrived in the capital.

From his personal observations, Sam believes this is because of piracy, an issue that continues to affect artists across the Pacific.

Sam Oeka, brother of well-known local singer Robert Oeka is not new to the music scene.

He was part of the former Hollie Maea band, before breaking away to work solo.

Experiencing the struggles of Pacific artists in this age of technology, he says it is harder for musicians to make money through the production of albums.

That’s how composer Sam Oeka describes his hit, currently sitting on fourth spot of Yumi FM’s top 20 hits.

The song, he says, is about the local rugby team - PRK Gulf Isapea.

Isapea means crocodile in the local Toaripe language (Gulf Province).

“Basically the song is about the Gulf Isapea team, referring them to crocodiles attacking,” he said.

Sam translates the song’s first verse as:

“This is my voice, hear my voice. Don’t be annoyed and just listen to my voice.  From the mountains to the beach, we are never afraid of you, we are crocodiles.”