‘The Making of the Band’ project bears fruits
The Making of the Band, a music recording and training project implemented by Mibawa Entertainment Company in partnership with Active Youth Initiative for Social Enhancement (Ayise), has started bearing fruits seven months after its launch.
With support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Mibawa and Ayise embarked on a music programme called Action for Adolescents and Youth Programme (A4AY), to promote socio-economic rights of young people (between ages 14 and 30) through music career advancement and job creation late last year.
Among others, the programme trained 43 young artists in voice projection, drums, keyboard and guitars. It has also produced albums for over 30 choirs and bands that already had own songs.
Meanwhile, the programme has opened doors to some youthful artists who have been employed by Mibawa Entertainment Company.
“Mibawa Resident Band has created employment to some of the graduates of the A4AY programme after impressing us during the project. The idea is to help the young artists engage in economic activities,” said John Nthakomwa, chief executive officer (CEO) of Mibawa Entertainment Company.
In all, Mibawa Studios formed four bands under the A4AY programme. The Mibawa Resident Band has roped in the services of artists mostly from the Band 1.
The Band 1 comprises drummer Chifundo Harrison, lead guitarists Gift Banda and Emmanuel Milanzi, bassist George Mkalimwa, keyboardist Davie Mkhoswe and Mussa Mulera, vocalists Gabriel Maxwell, Zoe Mnelemba, Twitsa Chitungo, Jurnie Juwawo (JJ) and Orange-Man .
Nthakomwa stressed the need to provide the music trainees with startup capital, including equipment to embark on economic activities.
One of the beneficiaries of the project is drummer Harrison who has exposed his talent to the country’s music industry.
Apart from performing with the Mibawa Resident Band, he has also been rendering his services to acoustic musician Malala’s Lazy Slaves alongside Milanzi.
“A4AY programme has sharpened my skills to the extent that I can play with any music band,” said Harrison. n
