Fans hail Joyful Souls’ album

If only they knew in advance; they could probably have chosen Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, for the maiden launch of their latest release mainly composed of church hymnals.

Such was the reception the Joyful Souls got on Sunday when they launched Abweranso at Sheaffer Conference Hall in Lilongwe.

For about four hours, Sheaffer turned abuzz with gospel melodies; mainly from youthful groups on menu, who harmoniously helped weave the afternoon into what many could believe a replication of heaven itself.

When the sextet of the Tidzauluka fame finally graced the stage, the jam-packed Sheaffer was led into a chorus of praise and adoration as they dished some of their hits from the previous album before sampling some from Abweranso.

Literally bewildered by the songs, some enthusiast pledged to get a copy of the album at K80 000 when auctioned. Many more others followed with K20 000s before slashing the price to K1 000 which ensured almost all patrons left the hall with a copy.

“I think it can’t be an exaggeration to say that the turnout today surpassed that of Blantyre last month. The organisation here was superb; the audience punctual and lively. This surely gave us the courage on stage and I only hope that we matched their expectations on us,” said Mac Zakulanda.