Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Richmore Tera
6 September 2008
Harare — POPULAR urban grooves artiste Alexio Kawara is now playing with a live band.
The urban groover, -- who first made waves with his singles Chibvugubvugu and Ndinomhanya several years ago -- introduced the yet-to-be-named band during the launch of his fourth album, Kana, at the 7 Arts Theatre in Avondale last Saturday.
What made the band exceptional on that night was its involvement of seasoned musicians such as Andy Brown, Mono Mkundu, Phillip Svosve, Sebede and Cindy who combined their diverse music talents to back Alexio during the performance, albeit as sessionists.
It is worthwhile to note that the same musicians also assisted Alexio in recording the 12-track album that was produced by Clive Mono Mkundu, Native Flash, Mc Dee, Jairos Hamba Hamba and Tinashe Dube.
"It took me about two years to come up with the album because I had to pull resources together and also come up with an album of a high sound quality," he said
Alexio said what motivated the idea of involving all these music gurus was also the need to evolve from being a mere urban groover into a more professional and mature musician whose beat catered for different listeners.
"I think what I did as an urban groover was just a stepping stone, and I thought of coming up with a product that would involve other people.
"By saying this, I don't mean to say that I have anything against urban grooves but I think it is time we took ourselves seriously and make music that appeals to everyone, hence the idea of fusing both new and old skool artistes on this album," he said.
And those who were present could not help but marvel at the different music generations that took to the podium to entertain audiences.
Even Kawara himself was lost for a description of his new music style, which, although it still has most of its urban grooves touch, has assumed a new afro-jazzy taste.
"I don't know how best to define it, I think the best way to define is that it has now evolved to what I prefer to call Good Music," he said with humour.
"I liked the way all the generations were coming together and also to see Alexio graduating from relying on playing CDs in the background while singing during shows," said one fan during the launch.
A popular musician, Prince Tendai who was the guest of honour at the launch said Alexio's decision to play with a live band was a welcome development that other urban grooves musicians should emulate.
"This is a new level and it is definitely going to take him to the next level.
"By working with all the musicians he worked with on this album Alexio has introduced a new sound in Zimbabwean music that is more Pan-African and this is a great contribution to Zimbabwean music," he said.
Speaking on the same occasion, Clive Mono Mkundu said by embracing the idea of playing with a live band, Alexio had "graduated from moving around with his band in his pocket."
"Alexio has departed from that era of moving around with his band in his pocket by introducing a live band to his music."
Although the launch attracted less than 200 people, the performance was however impressive with Alexio belting out crowd favourites such as Chibvugubvugu, supported by Stunner, among others.
He also took the opportunity to introduce some of the tracks featured on the album such as Amai, dedicated to his mother and the inspirational Shaina which instills hope in people, especially Zimbabweans, at this time when they are experiencing a lot of hardships. Music producer Take 5 -- real name Tatenda Jenami -- and his spouse-turned musician Chay were also fired for the occasion when they scintillated with their MCying skills that were out of this world.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
