STRICTLY ACAPELLA ZIMBABWE

ALBUM TITLE
Story of my life

DATE OF RELEASE
2020

NUMBER OF SONGS ON THE ALBUM
10 to 12 songs

SONG WRITERS
Carol Mutungwazi
Allan Mawarire
Pascal Chigango
Vukhile Marahwa

ÌNSPIRATION
Story of my life was composed by Vukhile Marahwa based on Kakier Muhoni’s life.The album is a story of Muhoni’s life byt it also applies to the challenges every other person encounters. The main message in the album is that God is always there to fight our battles for us.

MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WARM PRAISE
When was it started?
The group was started in 2010 . It was a mixed group from Cranborne and later changed to an all male acapella group.

Some of the pioneer members who are still around…
Prince Dube , Allan Mawarire , Vukhile Marahwa and Patrick Oscar.

Albums recorded so far….
Currently they have 2 namely From the Start and Thousands. Warm Praise is currently working on the new album titled Story of my life.

Song writers….
Allan Mawarire and Vukhile Marahwa although most songs they work on them as a team. Warm Praise also has some external writers like Tafara Muza who wrote the song Chirongo , Carol Mutungwazi who wrote Pedyo Nemi which is on the new album and Pascal Chigango who wrote another song which is on the new album too.

Inspiration. ….
The love we have for music and our beliefs as Seventh Day Adventists inspire us.

Title
The title is Mazuva Angu

Number of songs
There are 13 songs on the album

*Song writers*

Kudakwashe Chihava,Philip Machokoto and Professor “Ojay” Mkohliswa.

*Inspiration*
“Mazuva Angu” is self reflective meditation. One one has to acknowledge that days of life on earth are numbered. Therefore, one needs to live a Christ-like life. At the end of the day, the goal is to have our names written in the book of life.

*Why the title Mazuva Angu *
We have much work to do as individual christians in the great mission. That is to preach the gospel of Jesus’ 2nd coming.
For us, true christianity means using your own life as a sermon. Do you see Christ in you as days of your life number down? Hence the title, “Mazuva Angu”

*Expectations from the album *
We intend to reach out more through this album. We are using the album to measure our maturity musically, our errors as well as appreciate what we have done good.

We (SA) met up with Tawanda Mhishi , who is the director of Covenant Music , to tell us more about the group.

SA.Can you give us a brief background of your group?
TM.Covenant was started in 2015 at Glen View 8 Church and had 8 members, it used to sing on the sidelines of the then prominant local youth choir whenever they had program. It hit hard times twice and would always resurface as would any group. It has been steadily rising from 2017 to date.

SA.Your name Covenant , how did you come up with that?
TM.We spent quite some time without one, and we only had a Whatsapp group dubbed “Something New’. The name Covenant instantly made sense when it was suggested, as we committed to making this deep commitment to this ministry.

SA.Do you still have any pioneer members now
TM.Yes we do, 4 of the founding 8 are still there and are singing to date.

SA. How many albums do you have now?
TM.None yet, we prematurely went to the studio at some point and we then realised we needed to work more to produce a fine work of art. We currently working on our content for our first one, though we have kind of already missed our targets, we are still determined and a good product will come out.

SA. Who writes your songs?
TM.Most of our songs are re-arrangements and some are all time favourite hymnals. I have penned a few myself, still trying to master the art.

SA.What inspires you as a group?
TM.We are inspired by our enthusiasm to work in God’s vineyard. I am also personally inspired by other bigger groups like Reunion, The Well in particular. Very Constant, mature and their music is pregnant with relevant content.

SA.What sets you apart from any other group?
TM.We are family. We do more than singing. We have our moments of madness, seriousness and we make sure the social aspect of our personal is addressed.

SA. Your personal favourite as the director?
TM.I love the song, Tenzi Ndinokumbira. Its based on a verse where the writer is asking God to give him a new heart, a heart that is longsufering and kind.

SA. What are some of the challenges you have faced so far as a group?
TM.Our problems are mostly financial. Without money we cant record, practices are difficult to attend and travelling to programs becomes a challenges. But we always soldier through, the Lord has been good.

SA.Can we have a run down of your group members and the parts they sing?
TM.It a long list unfortunately, but we have about 15 active members, and other members who are not around at present. I invite you to like our Facebook page @Covenant Music where we are currently running an introductory series, you will find all the faces and names there…

Hello guys , its been a span , i really missed you a lot. Data challenges here in Zim…

Im baaaack now……

This week we (SA) had Kudzai Mbiriri (KM) who is the director of Rest Music Ministry telling us more about their journey so far as a group and the single which will be out in July.

SA: Can we have a brief background of your group?
KM: Rest Music Ministry was formed in 2014 by me and Theo Masevo.We were later joined by our friends and we auditioned one other lady. We had to put the group on hold because we had to go back to school.In January 2016 we then took in some new members and we released the song The Lamb.We then recorded a couple of songs but unfortunately some of the songs did not come out well so we ended up releasing only five songs.

SA : Your name Rest , how did you come up with that?
KM : It was after a tiresome week and we met on a sabbath and we were talking about the week then when we were looking for the name, Rest came up.

SA: Do you still have pioneer members now?
KM: Yes we do but its only myself and Theo Masevo.

SA: How many albums do you have now?
KM: When we released the five songs in 2016 , we released them as an album but we cant really call it an album.So I can say we have one EP and two singles namely Kwete Ini and No Night there.We are releasing a single in July , it’s a common sing along (he chuckles) , that’s all I can say now.

SA: Who writes your songs?
KM: It’s me ,Theo Masevo , Panashe Mabena and Natsai Mutumbura.

SA: What inspires you as a group?
KM: The power in music inspires us. When we started we were just singing but after a concert this other day, we sang and people did not respond that much but someone came to us and told us not to be discouraged. From then onwards, we understood that music is a ministry. That has also made us not to feature at so many concerts because we believe we are there to minister more than to entertain.

SA: What sets you apart from any other group?
KM: Our songs are meditational songs . Unfortunately the world right now has made us to believe that music ministry is more of entertainment rather than ministering to the spiritual needs of people. As a group we believe singers need to be out there , in hospitals, in the rural areas and in prisons, singing to all those people who have lost hope. However groups are now being pressurised to perform rather than sing songs and we as Rest Music Ministry we do not succumb to that pressure. The work that needs to be done and the ministry is way bigger for us to focus minor things.

SA: Some of the challenges you have faced as a group?
KM: Lack of commitment has been a problem. When people join a group, they do that for different reasons , so when their expectations are not fulfilled they leave . Another challenge is people are leaving the country, some for jobs and some for school.

SA: Your personal favourite song as the director?
KM: Its Kwete Ini .Its all God, we sin , we do a lot but God still protects us and He is always there.

SA: What can we expect from Rest now?
KM: More ministering through music. We are going to release an album by end of this year and we are also releasing a single in July.

SA: Thanks Kudzie for the interview.
KM: Thank you too for having me.

Gospel group Joyful Tidings will on 1 June launch their first album titled Mpulumutsi in Harare.

The group which rose to fame with their astounding performance last year at the NZC Iron Camp Youth Camp with their single titled Ishe wangu is based in Kambuzuma with 24 members.

“Music is our calling and we will keep on doing it. This is our latest offering and to us this is a message of hope to the world.It is an album of good news of the coming King ,” said the group’s director Ralph Mutimbanyoka.

“The album has 14tracks with Mpulumutsi as the title track.We decided to have many tracks on the album to give our fans more of Joyful Tidings since we released a few songs over the past years.”

The album features songs like I Love the Lord , Believe, Jerusalem and Tariro, all written by Joyful Tidings members giving hope to people in the last days.

“The group draws inspiration from the beauty of music. Music communicates more than just words and as a group we find joy in preaching the gospel through music,” added Ralph.

Joyful Tidings has performed at various gatherings , in churches and charity events including doing songs for the bereaved in conjunction with Moonlight Funeral Services.

They have also shared the stage with big names in the music industry like The Utaunashes’ , Shower Power, Reunion, Firm Faith and Michael Mahendere.

Rekindled Music is set to release two singles by the end of this month.

Speaking to the group’s director Shaun Mazhindu , he said they are currently in the studio recording two singles titled Dana and Mwanawashe.

The Grenary based group which was formed in 2015 has one single to its name titled Seek Ye First which was released in 2017.

“We have faced a couple of challenges in the ministry and one of them has caused us to record only one single in five years, we don’t have funds and that has been our main challenge .

“Lack of consistency has been a stumbling block too.The economic situation forced some of our members to go overseas and this has dwindled our growth as a group,” he said.

Rekindled has shared the stage with big names in the adventist music circles which include Thee Family and Radiance Acappella.

The group is inspired by Jesus’ command , “Go ye therefore ” which compelled the members to start the group in a bid to spread the gospel through music.

This week we met up with one of the fast rising group in adventist music , Amour Music Ministry.We (SA) had a chat with the group’s director Kudakwashe Munda (KM) to learn more about the group.

SA: Kuda , can you tell us, when was the group established?
KM: Amour was started around 2007 in Chitungwiza by Elias Mlauzi and Frank Murehwa and I joined the group in 2009.We recorded our first album from 2013 to 2015 .We were going back and forth fixing some songs and we then released the album in 2017. It was titled Put on the Whole Amour of God.Then in 2018 we released an EP album titled Kudenga Kwakanaka with 6 songs.

SA: From your albums, which one was the most successful?
KM: I’d say the second album because the first one we didn’t get a chance to launch it although it was released into the market.The second one we launched it and managed to do two videos. Sweetest Song I Know clocked one million views on Facebook while Kudenga Kwakanaka had over 200 000 views which was and still is a huge success for us as a group.

SA: Who writes your songs?
KM: I write most of our songs with the help of the group. We also get songs written way back and just rearrange them.

SA: What inspires you and sets you apart as a group?
KM: As Adventist musicians we are inspired by the need to spread the word of God through music.We are also inspired by our parents who were musicians before us.What sets us apart from any other group is the different personalities we have in the group and drawing inspiration from groups like Sweet Symphony and Hymns Ensemble from South Africa ,we incorporates some of their harmonies into our music.

SA: On the sidelines, small groups claim big groups are killing them by taking their members, whats your take on that?
KM: Well Vicky, we were once a small group so we experienced that too . However I can only account for our experiences. It’s inevitable, bigger groups approach outstanding members from smaller groups to strengthen their own groups. As a director though, I have noticed it’s always important to have not only outstanding members but people with other qualities as well. People who are committed, people who are willing to learn and people who are willing to build the group from the ground. If you have members like that in your group, they will always stick around even in the toughest of circumstances.

SA:Your personal favourite song as the director?
KM: My favourite song is Tererai.Its a sermon telling people about the state of the world. It’s more of a charge and a call to people to heed God’s word.

SA: What can we look forward to from Amour?
KM: More content , more music, more albums and more videos. Not to just point them as accolades but to keep ministering through music.

SA:Thank you Kuda !
SA: Thank you too for having me.

This week we met up with one of the fast rising group in adventist music , Armor Music Ministry.We (SA) had a chat with the group’s director Kudakwashe Munda (KM) to learn more about the group.

SA: Kuda , can you tell us, when was the group established?
KM: Amour was started around 2007 in Chitungwiza by Elias Mlauzi and Frank Murehwa and I joined the group in 2009.We recorded our first album from 2013 to 2015 .We were going back and forth fixing some songs and we then released the album in 2017. It was titled Put on the Whole Amour of God.Then in 2018 we released an EP album titled Kudenga Kwakanaka with 6 songs.

SA: From your albums, which was the most successful?
KM: I’d say the second album because the first one we didn’t get a chance to launch it although it was released into the market.The second one we launched it and managed to do two videos. Sweetest Song I Know clocked one million views on Facebook while Kudenga Kwakanaka had over 200 000 views which was and still is a huge success for us as a group.

SA: Who writes your songs?
KM: I write most of our songs with the help of the group. We also get songs written way back and just rearrange them.

SA: What inspires you and sets you apart as a group?
KM: As Adventist musicians we are inspired by the need to spread the word of God through music.We are also inspired by our parents who were musicians before us.What sets us apart from any other group is the different personalities we have in the group and drawing inspiration from groups like Sweet Symphony and Hymns Ensemble from South Africa we incorporates some of their harmonies into our music.

SA: On the sidelines, small groups claim big groups are killing them by taking their members, whats your take on that?
KM: Well Vicky, we were once a small group so we experienced that too . However I can only account for our experiences. It’s inevitable, bigger groups approach outstanding members from smaller groups to strengthen their own groups. As a director though, I have noticed it’s always important to have not only outstanding members but people with other qualities as well. People who are committed, people who are willing to learn and people who are willing to build the group from the ground. If you have members like that in your group, they will always stick around even in the toughest of circumstances.

SA:Your personal favourite song as the director?
KM: My favourite song is Tererai.Its a sermon telling people about the state of the world. It’s more of a charge and a call to people to heed God’s word.

SA: What can we look forward to from Armor?
KM: More content , more music, more albums and more videos. Not to just point them as accolades but to keep ministering through music.

SA:Thank you Kuda !
SA: Thank you too for having me.