The reigning champions of the revived Chibuku Road to Fame music competition, Lusubilo Band, have released their first album called Africa Inuka (Arise Africa).
The six track album, both in audio and DVD, recorded live at the Music Centre of Lusubilo in Karonga last year, is a fusion of traditional beats, Afro-jazz and Afro-pop.
Speaking in an interview on Sunday, songwriter and leader of the band Tiwonge Hango said it has taken them long to release the album because it had been returned to the studios for mixing and mastering for almost five times.
He said this was for the purpose of producing a high quality album which will also be on an international market in South Korea.
Though recorded live, mixing and mastering has been done by Gracium Mokoena, editing and production of the DVD by Wanangwa Msowoya and sound engineering by Lloyd Phiri’s Llohay Studio.
Hango disclosed that the album will be launched in August when the band will tour all the cities in the country.
The album has Ngonde songs such as Africa Inuka (Arise Africa), Asumenyeyo Kyala (God knows), Kachisa (Small stump) and Kalonga (King), fused with saxophones, trumpets, guitars, drums and other imported instruments.
The album also has folktale songs such as Kamtondoli and Wamama Wakuchema.
The videos in the album have departed from Kudikula or South Africa’s styles of dancing common in most videos. Theirs is a reconstruction of ndolo, ndingala and mapenenga dances.
Hango said the album is traditional because of the audience they are targeting.
“We are not singing for Malawi only, its international. Urban music would not represent our culture. So we want our songs to represent Malawi,” said Hango about the band which will tour South Korea next year.
