By Rowena Singh
Stan Antas, founder and lead singer of Vanuatu’s Stan & the Earth Force, says music has always been part of his life, and part of Vanuatu’s culture.
“We’re big on reggae here and our local string band music,” says Antas. “Hip-hop is growing genre. But generally, the audience in Vanuatu are into all kinds of music so a lot of producers are putting out all kinds of music.
“Music has always been a part of our culture,” he said.
“I grew up in it. Not in the professional music scene but at home, in the church, in school, our culture and traditions,” says Antas. “There are aspects of music in every facet of life growing up here in Vanuatu. So that is the first exposure to music. My father taught me to play the guitar when I was 11 years old. Back then it was just playing music at home, I didn’t have the confidence to play in front of people.
“When I was 15, my family moved to Suva in Fiji, and I attended the International School of Suva. There they had a music program. And I had an opportunity to perform for the first time on a stage. I learned most of the foundational skills and discipline for the music industry in that school.”
After leaving high school, Antas played with a number of Fijian bands.
He started with Freddy Fesaitu when they were trying to revive the old Rootstrata, then joined up with a group called First Tribe, before joining the house band at the Golden Dragon night club in Suva.
“I learned a lot from working with all these different people,” says Antas. “At that time, I was in Uni. After that I dropped out and came home to Vanuatu. I was already starting to write and compose my own work. And so, Stan and the Earth Force came to be.”
Antas describes his music genre as Roots reggae.
“Because we’re playing the reggae we feel from within,” says Antas. “The roots of reggae is in the soul. And not just in the rhythm and melody but the ideas being expressed through the lyrics. That is roots.
“I always love reggae. The rhythm and message. It’s difficult to explain but I can feel it, the music that is. And the lyrics kind of help you discover people who think in the same way that you do.”
Does his music get people up and dancing?
“Yes. At least in a lot of places that I’ve been to. But you know people in the Pacific, especially so in Vanuatu, we tend to be very quiet when listening to music. We do dance and move but only when the vibe is right. My music is reggae, so it moves people. Because reggae is the kind of music you can just jump to, as long as you’re on rhythm.”
Why can’t we live?
Stan and the Earth Force started working on their latest album, ‘Why Can’t We Live?’ in 2018.
“The title of the album is really a question. ‘Why can’t we live , how God says man should live?’ The question is based on my understanding that God made man and gave us a responsibility to safeguard his creation. Should we keep living the way we live; exploiting this world without any care for the future?
“We released it in February 2020. That was right before the epidemic turned into a pandemic and the lockdowns happened. The album in terms of sales has been pretty good in Vanuatu. Not so much overseas as I’d like compared to the previous albums. It’s still selling though.
“We always used to put CDs out for the other albums, but this was the first album we launched solely on online platforms.”
Another song featured on the album is ‘West Papua Rise Up.’
“Vanuatu is a very young country in terms of political independence,” says Antas. “And there are still people who lived through the colonial times. So we all know the struggle because our parents and grandparents teach us the history. I am the first generation that was born into the freedom our forefathers fought for. So we grew up supporting the cause for independence in West Papua.
“This song is to give strength to the people and revolutionaries of West Papua. It is for them to know they not alone in the struggle.”
“From the very beginning I always wanted my music to make a difference in people’s lives,” says Antas. “I want my music to the inspire positive vibes I feel whenever I listen to the legends that came before me. This is Rasta music. And love is the ultimate message.”
Like many Pacific artists, Stan and the Earth Force works with Mangrove Productions on mastering, marketing, and publishing. “As a musician you depend mostly on live gigs and selling recorded music,” says Antas. “It’s hard. You have to keep hustling. In Vanuatu, the music industry is quite informal. Our government has only recently begun to try and invest [in] creative sectors and music happens to be one of them. But like I said. It’s hard. You have to put in a lot of work.”
This lack of formal recognition can lead to breaches of copyright and intellectual property, performers’ rights, Antas says. “And yeah, people are exploited, because… a lot of people don’t see music as a profession. A lot of people are surprised if you describe to them the amount of work you have to put in order to put a song out or put on a show. But in the informal sector, it’s still growing, and more people are starting to be aware of these issues.”
He says while the global music market has changed a lot because of the internet, Vanuatu’s industry is only in the beginning stages of adapting to the online landscape.
The move to online distribution has opened a number of markets to the band. “These days it’s mostly online. Spotify, iTunes, Amazon music, Deezer etc,” says Antas. “Digicel also has D’music and a direct mobile download using credit. So I’m on these platforms for the Pacific and international markets.”
“At home, distribution is on the Digicel platform as well production of Procards. Procards are mostly for distributing on our local market throughout the islands because most of them don’t use Spotify and platforms like that. Digicel direct download is also a major platform in Vanuatu. It’s just more convenient to use. I do make a living from it.”
While COVID-19 has seen a decline in sales and gigs, “It’s just something to adjust to,” he says. “You can’t tour to other countries because borders are locked down. And confinements don’t really go well with live events. A lot of businesses are affected, and a lot of people have lost their jobs. Our industry depends a lot on the population’s spending power so when that drops, our sales drop as well.”
Still, he remains positive. “To the fans all over; keep spreading music and vibes. One love every time!”
