SUNGURA musician Magreen Chareka, whose track Gadziriro off his album with the same title came second on National FM may have finally gotten the recognition that he may have been longing for in his music career.
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The musician came back to the scene in 2014 after 14 good years and is glad that he has not suffered from the usually bullish tendencies that have made sure up-coming artistes always play second fiddle however good they are.
Chareka told NewsDay that he intends to intensify live performances soon to make sure he penetrates into the market.
Interestingly, his music maintains an original sungura feel that many followers have been longing for.
For several years now sungura has slowly sliding into oblivion as various sounds have diluted the genre.
That Zimdancehall has also come to the fore has actually made it worse.
Yet it is channels like National FM that have maintained a consistent contact with the people.
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That has given faith to followers and practitioners yet other dominant radio stations appear to be neglecting the genre.
The musician, however, lamented that other radio stations often play renowned artistes only while upcoming artistes are neglected.
“We have been playing at live shows and the response is quite good, but I believe we need more support from radio which reaches a wider audience,” he said.
“Of course names like Sulumani Chimbetu attract more listeners, but they need to give us a chance so that there is diversity and longevity of local music.”
He said radio stations have to up their game so as to preserve sungura as part of Zimbabwe’s heritage.
