The national football team’s qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals has inspired Brian Kabuba, alias Mystery, to produce an extended play (EP) titled Flames Afcon22 Hits.
The songwriter and producer has released the compilation of four songs Flames Yadza, Umodzi Umodzi, Mbambande and Yayaka Moto.
Mystery said the project is meant to honour the team’s recent feat and to inspire them to do more during the continental showpiece next year.
He said: “I had a dream that Flames had won the Afcon. That was before we qualified for the finals. So, I made a promise to myself that I will produce an EP in dedication to the team if they qualify.”
The EP, released last Friday, has been produced by Explo Beats and Beat King Kong at Joint Studios in Lilongwe.
The songs retain a danceable club feel which precipitate a party mood. Flames Yadza has the national anthem’s beat done in South Africa’s trending Amapiano version.
Mystery said the songs have been done in his own self-invented beat.
“It is called Afro-Tembo. It is a mixture of Afro-beats and the traditional Malawian touch that was inspired by Joseph Tembo. He inspired me a lot musically and I decided to name my type of music after him,” he said.
The Lilongwe-based artist said as the finals draw closer, he will release more singles centred on the same theme.
He said at the moment he has opened a poll for listeners to vote for their favourite among the four so that he can shoot a video for it.
In an interview, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) media and competitions manager Gomezgani Zakazaka said, for the team to continue doing well, it needs such support to help build the brand and raise the players’ confidence.
“This is a great initiative and we appreciate the efforts to raise the vibe around the Flames qualification for the Afcon finals which has come after 11 years. It has been a long time since we heard a song dedicated to the Flames,” he said.
Zakazaka said FAM is trying to find ways of supporting such initiatives by coming up with an official Flames song.
In the past, several artists have also done songs dedicated to the Flames. The latest songs include Imadoda Dada by Blessings Kachoka, Goletsa Malawi by Bubu Lazy and Azisiya by Saul Chembezi.
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