THE BATTLE for dendera music supremacy is likely to heat up following the rise of talented musician, Joe 'Local' Nyamungoma. The new dendera musician is rocking the airwaves with a song titled Madriver, which is popularly known as Christmas Yatosvika.

The song is a warning to drivers to be careful over the festive season that has been synonymous with road accidents.

Nyamungoma said the song would be on his debut album titled Mhoroi Mhoroi that will be released soon.

Other songs like Ndazvipira and Tasanganiswa are already being played on air and sources at ZBC say there has been positive listener response to the songs.

The musician said he is putting final touches to the album but

released songs for airplay to gauge people's response before the album is out.

Nyamungoma joins the list of dendera musicians that is dominated by the Chimbetus.

But the musician insists that he would not be competing with Allan, Suluman and Tryson.

"I am complementing their efforts and contributing to the growth of dendera music," he explained.

"I have always been a dendera music fan and I became closer to the Chimbetus because I regularly attend their shows and discuss music with them.

"My uncle was close to the late Simon and I also became friends with Allan.

"That time I never knew I would become a musician but the interest grew over the years until I composed my first song early this year."

Nyamungoma said Allan assisted him with the arrangement of the album and also played a guitar on one of the songs.

The musician says Simon was his source of inspiration and was proud to have joined the mission to keep dendera music alive.

He said he would start doing live shows as soon as his album is out and has assembled a nine-member band named Ekhaya Direct in preparation for performances.

But Nyamungoma says he is not yet prepared to pursue music full-time although he did not rule out the possibility of such a development.

The 31-year-old musician is likely to leave lasting impressions with the first album if the popularity he has garnered on air is anything to go by.

He applauds fellow musician and businessman Prince Tendai Mupfurutsa for encouragement and assistance.

"He is my boss at work and he is the person who made me venture into music.

"I just told him about the idea when I was still undecided whether to do music or not but he encouraged me to take it seriously.

"He even funded some of the preparations for the album and I am glad that everything has worked according to plan."

Nyamungoma was born in Nyanga but grew up in Harare where he attended Kambuzuma High School.

He trained as an electrician and worked for various companies before joining Ekhaya Petroleum about five years ago.