The Making of Soul Sessions

Against all odds, the second season of the gospel music programme is now available. When omicron disrupted the production schedule, host Sara-Jane Elika discusses what it took to bring the first episode to air with Sela Jane Hopgood.

Soul Sessions season two filming was scheduled to last four days in February. Ten programmes over four days.On day two, the epidemic rapped on the studio doors.

The popular gospel music genre is celebrated on the half-hour television programme Soul Sessions NZ, which is hosted by New Zealand Samoan singer Sara-Jane Elika (née Auva'a), who first sang with the pop band Pacific Soul before going solo.

The programme includes gospel and soul musicians and examines the gospel music landscape in Aotearoa. Each episode is wrapped up with a live duet with Elika.

The programme secured funding from New Zealand On Air for a second season as well as a one-time Christmas special last year following a successful first season that featured award-winning Pacific performers Lani Alo, TJ Taotua, and La Coco as well as Breakfast anchor Indira Stewart. The actors and production crew only had two weeks after the funding announcement to write, film, and broadcast their Christmas episode.

The entire second season of Soul Sessions in NZ would end with that quick turnaround happening again.

The production crew for the concert hoped to avoid any major setbacks, but they were braced for the worst. As a result of Pasifika Medical Association's sponsorship, Elika adds, "We're really fortunate to have all the health and safety equipment, like RATs, N95 masks, and an on-site medic."

"On the second day of shooting, one of our crew members followed our standard protocol for performing a RAT and tested positive, necessitating the need for a PCR. All of us who were present that day met while that was going on, and we agreed to halt production until further notice.

The production crew for the concert hoped to avoid any major setbacks, but they were braced for the worst. As a result of Pasifika Medical Association's sponsorship, Elika adds, "We're really fortunate to have all the health and safety equipment, like RATs, N95 masks, and an on-site medic."

"On the second day of shooting, one of our crew members followed our standard protocol for performing a RAT and tested positive, necessitating the need for a PCR. 

Since production had stopped for six days before to my test, my symptoms were moderate. When I did test positive, I went back into mother mode for both my family and the entire production team as soon as I felt better. Around 70% of the season two squad either had Covid or was a close contact over the preceding two months, therefore Elika and others organised the delivery of food packs to team members who tested positive. It turned into a waiting game, she recalls, to make sure that everyone on her crew had finished their seclusion time and was fully recovered before considering starting up the show's production again.

The actors and crew went back to the studio to shoot the remaining episodes for the season the week of April 4 - around six weeks after filming was meant to be finished. That is a very short turnaround for a show that is scheduled to air on April 17. In one session, Elika recounts, "I was jamming with a bunch of adolescents and the recording ran right up till midnight." We had to make that sacrifice in order to have the show ready for Easter.