Afro-musician Find Code on Friday lit up Jacaranda Cultural Centre (JCC) in Blantyre with her Tukuka Showcase concert.
Initially, the show appeared threatened by poor patronage. At the time the singer went on stage, there were four patrons in the hall. But this did not seem to distract the artist and her band from her core business of the evening.
Find Code, real name Chikondi Sulemani, made sure she gave out her best performance yet. By the time she was winding up her two-hour long performance, the hall was filled to capacity.
Backed by her band, which she refers to as Find and herself being the Code, they dished out some of her songs from her Tukuka album such as Tumbuka, Chindapusa and MweziUwale. She combined dancing, leading vocals and playing her visekese instrument.
Her unique voice and exceptional energy was a marvel on the evening. Her music has South African and Zimbabwean influences owing to her background, as she was raised and did part of her education in the two countries. All the same, it was well received by the patrons.
In a post-show interview she admitted that though the nerves got the better of them at the beginning but they eventually recovered to give out the patrons a good show, which was part of promoting her new album Tukuka.
“The performance was well received and appreciated and for us as a band maybe the nerves got a little bit of us but eventually we got into the groove we became comfortable,” said Code.
The artist, who professionally trained as a lawyer, has also revealed plans to hold a nationawide tour.
She said: “This is just the beginning. Hopefully we will visit Lilongwe and Mzuzu or maybe do a country tour to stage similar shows. With time and more shows we will get better.”
Veteran musician and commentator Waliko Makhala, who was present, said her performance showed that she is serious with her music.
“She really did set herself apart in so many ways,” he said. n
