TALENTED bassist Edith Katiji, better known as Edith WeUtonga, will tonight prove whether she is a one-album wonder or an established star when she launches her second album, Kwacha, at the Alliance Française.
Report by Tinashe Sibanda
It is not easy to make a mark with a debut album on the local music scene, but the talented musician did wonders with her first album titled Edith WeUtonga that she released three years ago.
The launch of Kwacha will be significant as it would prove whether she is worth her salt.
“I am very excited and proud to release Kwacha and hope it will maintain the popularity that my first album created for me,” said Katiji.
Kwacha is a 10-track album that fuses elements of the music types that influence Katiji’s contemporary beat.
“On this one I simply followed my heart and decided to be honest to the sound that defines me and my beliefs. I am honoured to have worked with an amazing array of artistes who enhanced my vision,” she said.
Tracks on the new album include the title track, Kwacha, welcoming the Utonga crew and everyone to a new day, and other insightful songs such as Famba Naye, Hautengwe, Hurombo, Khonkotha, Mashoko, Ndireke, Royera Kure and Chinyara.
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The mother of two wrote all the tracks, produced them and worked with talents such as Hudson Simbarashe, Strovers Shadaya and Tariro Ruzvidzo, also known as Tariro neGitare.
Hailing from Bulawayo, where she was a student at Amakhosi Theatre School, Katiji came to Harare after her talent was spotted by the popular jazz artiste Tanga Wekwa Sando who took her as one of his backing vocalists.
After some time with Sando, she decided to form her own band to show the world her talent with her younger sister Fatima Katiji, Tariro Ruzvidzo and Rumbidzai Tapfuma together with the help of two males Shingai Jero and Aaron Gambila.
To support her blossoming recording career, Katiji holds numerous live performances and this has seen her perform at every major festival in the country — collaborating with Oliver Mtukudzi and Senegalese superstar Ismael Lo at last year’s closing concert at the Harare International Festival of the Arts.
