Name: Mark Kavuma

Nationality: British-Ugandan
Occupation: Trumpeter, bandleader, composer, teacher
Current Release: Mark Kavuma and his project The Banger Factory's Warrior is out via Banger Factory.
Recommendations: Music: Louis Armstrong – Swing that music (1936 Version) – WOW WOW WOW;  Book:  Bruce Lee – Striking Thoughts

If you enjoyed this interview with Mark Kavuma and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, and Soundcloud.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I was 13 years old when I started playing trumpet at secondary school. It was at St Thomas The Apostle in South London, Peckham. I was very lucky to have an incredible music teacher, Joe Morgan, who sparked my interest in music. He got me started and I never looked back.

Soon after that I joined Kinetika Bloco and then Tomorrow’s Warriors. I was surrounded by mentors who all believed in me and encouraged my music making and expression. Matt Fox, Claude Deppa, Gary Crosby, Giles Liddiard, Andy Grappy and Quentin Collins.

In the early days I was really drawn to South African music. Something about the harmony really got to me. I got hip to South African Jazz through Kinetika Bloco. Matt loved Abdullah Ibrahim and Dollar Brand, so we played a lot of that music and that of other South African Jazz greats. It really got to me. Still does.

I was also really influenced by church and gospel music. Hymns, Spirituals as that was part of my childhood. There’s something about Hymns that always hits me. Perfect melodies and perfect harmony. Man, that’s some of my favourite stuff. I eventually got hip to Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, and Louis Armstrong. And so got deeply into Jazz around the age of 15.

I wrote my first proper composition, 16 years old, at Tomorrow’s Warriors. It was a groovy little number called ‘Who Cares’. AABA form in G minor. Man, that was a gas, there is nothing like hearing a band play something that you have created for the first time. it sounded pretty good and I was beaming ear to ear. That set me off on my journey as a composer.

In regard to producing music, that came about a lot later. At around 22-23 years old, when I was at university.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

Dance is a big part of my African culture and heritage and so naturally when I hear music that gets to me I get an urge to move, tap my foot or break into a little step.

I would say that groove is a big part of my music and a lot of the music that I dig. I’m always hearing rhythmic things a lot of the time when I compose. But it is something that happens naturally. Something that is deeply rooted and engrained in me.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

My development as an artist has been slow and gradual. For one thing, I decided that music would be my life obsession from a very early age and so there’s never been a plan B. I suppose the biggest challenge was believing that all will be well pursuing music as a career for I am the first to pursue music as a profession in my family. I think the key is to surround oneself with good people. With The Banger Factory and support network around me I have been able to overcome all challenges thus far as.

Now the biggest challenge I face is running a label, leading a band and also maintaining a busy playing schedule. But being surrounded by good people and the Banger Factory community has been instrumental. Theo Erskine for example has been key in helping me with the label. Mussinghi Brian Edwards is a big mentor of mine. I can go to Artie Zaitz or Ruben Fox when I am stuck musically or just need some inspiration and so on ….

In regards to searching for a personal voice, that has never been a worry as I’ve always understood that it takes time. You can’t force it. As long as you are honest, approach your art with integrity and are open to different approaches, people and playing opportunities then I believe one acquires a personal voice.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

Well I was born in Uganda and feel very much Ugandan but also Very much British. I am somewhere in between. I have grown up in London and so that is the biggest part of my identity but I spent my formative years in Uganda which is a key part of ones development.

I don’t know if I can say how it influences my preferences as a listener but I can say I am drawn to merging different things, styles, melodies and rhythms together. I am drawn to working with different musicians and artists in different styles and disciplines. Fusing things together. A little bit of this and a pinch of that. I suppose it is a reflection of my identity as someone who is emersed in two different cultures.  

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Community, Self-Expression, Integrity, Honesty and Love.

I also see music and art as the purest form of humanity and expression of the human experience. It encapsulates beauty, can be sad at times, uplifting at others. It can also be spiritual, a gateway to something beyond us, a means to achieving higher consciousness.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

To be honest with you I don’t sit there and think about that. I am in it. Music is my life.

I understand that I am following in the footsteps of giants. Geniuses. But I also understand that I have something within me that is different. The music I am writing is coming from me, from my experience of the world around me.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

Most important instrument in my development has been the piano. Learning the piano has transformed my trumpet playing and is instrumental when I am composing and arranging music. It all revolves around the piano.

I have three upright pianos and two keyboards so I always have a keyboard instrument at hand. My poor neighbours.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I have a very strict morning routine. I run every day (except Fridays) and have done so for three years now. I get up, get myself together and hit the road.

My day begins after my morning run. Usually I work on the label. 11:00am – 12:30pm, everyday, unless I have to be out for a workshop or something. Lunch 12:30pm – 1:30pm. Then an hour of practice followed by an hours rest and another hour of practice. That is the basic structure.

After that I am either getting ready for a gig, meeting some friends or working on a project or something but that is pretty much how it goes day to day. Weekends I have the big runs and try to get involved in some other things.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

My creative process when composing or working on a new piece is very collaborative. Usually I have an idea or melody and show it / play it to one of the guys. Theo, Artie, Mussinghi or Ruben. Get their perspective on it. A lot of the time they have suggestions and I take it all on board. Then we try it out with the band.

It is a blessing that we are playing regularly week in, week out, as that allows us to experiment and the piece always evolves as the we play them. That has always been my creative process. I am surrounded by incredible musicians and so never try to take things on alone. Two heads are better than one.

With the albums me and Theo have worked out a great formula. Usually we decide on who is on a particular album. Rehearse Monday and Tuesday and record Friday. This gives everyone enough time to digest the music and also gives us time to step away from it before recording.

On recording day, we usually run everything twice, never more than three times and move on. After lunch we then record sets as if it is a live performance. Usually we know that we have a good take from the morning so everyone tends to be relaxed after lunch. And that’s usually when the magic happens.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

I have had so many moments of revelation listening to music with others. People hear and zone in on different things and I am always surprised by bits in the music I didn’t hear or pay attention to.

The Banger Factory consists of many different creatives, all with different musical tastes so I am always being exposed to new music and diggin different sounds. Solitary listening is key but listening in a communal setting can really do wonders for inspiration, motivation, and gaining a more rounded perspective on your art.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

As Art Blakey beautifully states: “Music washes away the dust of every day life.“ There is so much going on in the world right now, on a local and international level. So I see our work as a means of sharing love, beauty, unity and joy amongst all the madness.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

Take Louis Armstrong for example, my hero, his music deals with every aspect of the human experience, the big topics as you put it. But in such a universal way. His music shows you that we are all human beings and go through the same things. His music has taught me that music can bring us together in these moments. It is the antidote, the medicine.

Music is the universal language. Isn’t it amazing that you can listen to something written 10 or 100 years ago and still connect to it on a deep level in regards to understanding and dealing with life, loss, death, love and pain?

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.“ Music and sharing music with others,  weather it be my music or that of other creatives is my why and so music tends to be my means of dealing with the big topics.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

I can say music and maths go hand in hand but with regards to science I haven’t got much to say.  
Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Well for one, writing or performing music requires a lot of dedication, practice and investment, to do it well anyway, so you can not start comparing that to making a cup of coffee. However great the cup of coffee may be.

As I mentioned before music can be a gateway to understanding life, death, love, the human experience. A gateway to understanding things that are beyond us, a means of exploring spirituality or attaining higher consciousness. You can’t express that through more mundane tasks.

So yes, it is inherently different.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it is able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

As I said music is ‘The’ universal language. I do not have one single explanation for how it is able to transmit deep messages, but I have experienced the power of music in action all over the world.

Wether you speak the native language or not, you can always communicate through music. Ain’t that a trip?