Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Richmore Tera
9 July 2009
Harare — TALENTED guitarist and composer, Andy Brown's latest 10-track offering, Set, is significant in many ways.
It marks the rise of two proverbial phoenixes from the ashes -- Brown the artiste, who has been in hibernation for close to five years, and the Records and Tape Promotions company, that had closed shop last year. Also, the album shows the vintage Brown at his best.
But above all, it also revives memories of the Ilanga days when Brown, Cde Chinx, Busi Ncube and the late Don Gumbo were the in-thing.
On the album the artiste manages to infuse some contemporary elements in his music, both from home and South Africa, where the artiste commands a strong following.
Its title -- Set -- is symbolic in that the artiste declares that he is now set to reclaim his position in the mainstream music circuit, a message that is underpinned in the last track, Reincarnation, in which a person 'sloughs off of the old skin and assumes a new one'.
The song is laden with images of hope for a better tomorrow, as in "a brand new day for you and me" and "the morning light . . . it's for a new day."
Reincarnation is a very poetic and philosophical song only close to Alexio Kawara's Shaina in its use of metaphors and idioms to talk about current issues.
Brown's ability to adapt folk songs and give them a contemporary feel is evident in the tracks Maronjera and Sekuru Manonoka.
In the latter, he is advising an elder to be wary of the thorns and pitfalls along the paths of life.
In Mberengwa, the musician advises society on the wily ways of some people who are only after self-aggrandisement.
"Vanhu vese vanoda zvinhu zvakanaka/ Ko iwewe sei uchinokora zvose? (We all want good life/ But why do you grab everything?)"
This is a similar message in the title track, Set, in which he warns those who 'travel' at breakneck speed in life to "reduce your speed, iwe wanyanya."
Brown also included two remixes of his earlier songs Mapurisa which he here retitled Amapolisa (Joza Version) and sung in Zulu/Ndebele, and VaDriver.
On VaDriver, the musician featured forgotten amasganda-dzamagitare star Ngwaru Mapundu who brings in a novel element to the track.
Recorded at Studio Shakaza, the album also features Jairos Hambahamba, Flash Gordon and Willom Tight.
In a previous interview with The Herald, Brown said about his music:
"I want my music to help the less privileged in society.
"Most people thought I had left music for good, but no, I have been performing outside the country. Music is my life and without it I don't know how I could have survived all this long," he said.
Brown started his professional music career after joining Ilanga, then fronted Cde Chinx, in 1986.
The outfit also included other talented artistes such as the late Don Gumbo and Busi Ncube.
But three years later, Brown left Ilanga to form his own group The Storm, with which he recorded a series of successful albums.
It is one of the first albums to be marketed and distributed under the RTP brand ever since the news of their closure last year.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 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.
