(PRESS RELEASE) -- After nearly 4 months of production, the much anticipated song & music video has finally been completed. What started out as a simple but inspiring idea, Tulaga Whitcombe along with his whitcombemedia production team produced what would be the first of it's kind here in American Samoa.
A project that would focus on the young people to inspire them to go the extra mile and strive to achieve their goals and dreams by creating and producing a song and music video featuring local artists of American Samoa.
Tulaga had this to say, "…I was in Fiji this past July 2009 on vacation with my family when I saw a music video on TV featuring a couple of local artists. The song was an AIDS awareness campaign but the idea itself of having a positive song with a group of different artists as well as the quality of the production really made an impact on me.
I thought to myself 'why can't we do something like this in American Samoa?' We have so many talented singers and the impact it would have… The next day I grabbed the guitar began writing the song. I didn't just want to write another song and make a music video for it, I wanted to raise the standard of audio & visual production on-island to another level and do the very best I can with what we had in terms of equipment."
The 4min track which can be viewed online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfiwvkoGQSE features local artists Miriam Teo, Chevonne Lafaele, Francis Vaivao, Smurf Solaita, Elijah Tavai as well as Jason Hollister and Rasmas who also contributed to the song by writing their own verses. DVDs will be produced in the near future for sale with all proceeds going towards charity. "…I wanted to give back to the community as well as showcase our local talent not only on our island but to the whole pacific as well as the rest of the world. We are all survivors in our own way and hopefully this song will produce a positive vibe and give a speck of hope in lives of people. Especially after the tragic September earthquake / tsunami disaster we experienced."
There is also a behind the scenes section where the artists talk a little about the project and offer a few words of advice & encouragement which can be viewed online here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvq1z8JTSok
The song will also be playing on local TV & radio stations. A copy of the song can be downloaded for free here: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1003334&content=songinfo&songID=8253457
"I just want to thank the Lord and all those who were involved with this project as well as those who offered encouragement & support along the way"
When asked about any new upcoming projects, "We're always working on something because we love doing it… we have over projects we're trying to finish before we work up something new… but until then, enjoy the song…"
(Source: whitcombemedia)
