Ma-V-Elle: On A Wing And A Prayer
By Jennifer Scott, NZ Musician Vol. 8, No. 6 December 1999 /January 2000
The second album is notoriously a difficult one for artists, let alone if you lose a member of your group, have a baby and get married in between as South Auckland's Ma-V-Elle have done.
'Angel' is Ma-V-Elle's follow-up to their debut 'Spoken To' released in 1997. Since that album's release Marina Davies has left the group to devote more time to her Manurewa-based church youth group leaving Lavina Williams and Maybelle Galuvao to carry the musical torch. For a group renowned for its three-way harmonies, the loss of a member could have spelt disaster but instead it has made Lavina and Maybelle even more determined to achieve their goals.
The first step towards doing that is the 12-track 'Angel' recorded at producer and engineer Peter Van Gent's South Auckland Studios in Manukau. The album was released in November on Birthday Records, a label owned by their manager of four years, Tim Mahon, and distributed through Festival Records.
Maybelle and Lavina were determined that 'Angel' was to be a step forward.
"We had more say in the second album," says Maybelle. "We love the first album but we needed a change and we needed people to see that this album is a new beginning. Marina has left so we had to try and do something that everyone would love. We didn't want people to say 'They've got worse since Marina left' or to stay in the same place, and we believe this album is so much better."
As well as Marina's departure another key event for Ma-V-Elle in 1999 was Maybelle's marriage and the birth of her daughter, Praise. This has resulted in a change in focus for her.
"I think being a mother has made me not only just grow up quickly, but to take everything seriously, not to take everything as a joke, because now my daughter is on the line, my husband is on the line. I'm the provider as well as my husband and it just makes me want to do as well as I can. As for Lavina, she's always been that person to chase a dream and go hard. In a way the level of my expectations has risen up. I really want to go hard and work hard for Ma-V-Elle, especially now that there's just two of us."
'Angel' was recorded over five months to fit in with Van Gent's schedule and Maybelle's pregnancy. For Lavina the studio became a second home.
"She wanted them to put a shower and bed in there for her," laughs Maybelle, Lavina sheepishly agreeing.
The recording experience has made both Maybelle and particularly Lavina keen to learn more about production with the aim of being able to do it themselves one day.
"I've gained more respect for her (Lavina) because of the way she was in the studio," says Maybelle. "You can see that she is so serious when she's in there. You can see that she wants this, she wants that, and I respect that in her because it shows that she's really serious about our music."
Van Gent runs Xytech Lighting & Audio and it was while he was doing the live sound for Ma-V-Elle about two years ago that Maybelle and Lavina realised they had struck gold - a sound engineer who made their voices sound amazing live. Van Gent has a reputation for having an ear for female voices, complimented recently by none other than The Supremes who played Auckland in September.
He says his live experience with the girls meant that they had a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve in the studio which includes a Amek TAC mixing console and Bose monitors.
"They trust me and know what they can and can't do basically. Lavina is very accurate in pitch and expression, every take was a good take."
Van Gent says the lasting impression he has been left with from the session is that it was such a "good time". Through Van Gent, musician/producer John Kempt was brought onboard the project, initially as a session musician but eventually evolving into the musical director. (He wrote Better Be True and obviously had a lot of say about other songs, namechecked in the liner notes as 'Mr "you change the whole #*#! song" John Kempt'!)
The result is an album which the girls say cover a variety of styles and moods.
"You know how they have those adverts on TV, 'Buy this pot and have your food cooked in 10 seconds!' well this is our product we're selling," says Maybelle.
"We're selling songs and saying 'Buy this if you're broken-hearted, buy this it will strengthen you!' because music soothes the soul and that's why we write music with a message. And the messages are stronger now because we've been through a lot of experiences and know what those people have been through. It's a deep album. We should have called it 'Deep'!"
Lavina warms up: "We're trying to reach as many markets as possible and that's why there is a variety of songs on there. There's Island in there, there's the white market, there's the black market, there's the brown market and there's the pink market! There's pop music there, R&B, hip hop - everything."
Ma-V-Elle's manager, Tim Mahon says he believes the girls' musical skill as well as their vocal skills, are evident on 'Angel'.
"From the first time I heard them sing I knew they were world class. Over time they have developed into awesome songwriters and become even better singers. The musicality has shone through but I also feel a maturity beyond their years in the lyrics and musical ideas. This is their record, their direction, their musical self determination."
While certainly derivative of the American R&B sounds and although sometimes smoothly formulaic vocally, there is a strength and strong self-belief reflected in the lyrics and by the girls themselves that they say live audiences in particular pick up on.
"When we do a song like Three Strike which is about giving your man the three strikes - once he's got to that third strike he's out - when we sing that you see all the ladies lift their heads and saying 'Yeah, that's right, you sing that girl!'. There's a lot of strength in that and that feedback gives us the strength to sing hard out and gives us a boost on stage."
Mahon says the Pacific sound is something that will set Ma-V-Elle apart.
"The Pacific is the final frontier in music and many famous producers have alluded to that. Ma-V-Elle have dared to cross it over themselves. You cannot listen to their voices and fail to hear the Pacific sound but you can hear from the production that it's as up to date as anything from the US or UK."
International opportunities abounded with Ma-V-Elle's first album with three trips to Europe last year, including two performances at the renowned Ronnie Scott's club in London. They also played some high profile support slots at home, opening for Tina Turner, The Supremes and Boney M. The latter resulted in a friendship with lead singer Liz Mitchell and the first single off 'Angel', Never Say Goodbye, was written as a tribute to Mitchell and her husband Thomas Pemberton who they stayed with while in London last year.
They fully expect similar opportunities to arise following the release of 'Angel' and Maybelle says she does not think motherhood and its incumbent responsibilities will be limiting.
"I promised Lavina, I promised myself and I promised my family that no matter what happens I will do everything I can for Ma-V-Elle. When I was first told that I was pregnant all of that flooded my brain. I was thinking 'How am I going to travel? How am I going to do this?' But then you see so many people doing it like Lauryn Hill who's had two kids. So in a way it did trouble me but then I thought 'No this is not impossible'. I have a supportive family who are willing to look after my child, I even have Godmother (Lavina) who's with me and we can look after baby. I'm also so blessed to have a baby who's not a sooky! She's doesn't cry all the time so she's very manageable."
Conquering international markets is high on Ma-V-Elle's agenda with the success of OMC's Pauly Fuemana providing inspiration.
"When we heard that he made it, it made us feel like he had opened the door for other Pacific artists to go out there," says Maybelle.
Maybelle and Lavina cite Dave Dobbyn as another performer they have increased admiration for, particularly since he has recently been so open about his new found Christianity, Ma-V-Elle's own strong faith having always been a large part of their work.
"I'm proud of him and how he has really got into his spiritual side. I was reading in the Herald about how people might think he's bible bashing but really it is just the love he has (for Jesus Christ) and he's an example of how we want to put our love of our God into our music. I have to be whole physically and know my roots and religion. It completes you."
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