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Abra tribe releases track with US-based DJ

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Abra Records recently synergised with the internationally touring Chinese- Jamaican, US based Leighton Walsh aka DJ Walshy Fire of Major Lazers

Abra Records recently synergised with the internationally touring Chinese- Jamaican, US based Leighton Walsh aka DJ Walshy Fire of Major Lazers and Black Chimney.

BY TINASHE SIBANDA

This merge has culminated in the release of a hot single, Follow Me Ikoko, which features Tawanda “Jusa Dementor” Sibotshiwe’s vocals and composition, with the executive production and direction of Simukai ‘Abra Simmz’ Mandizvidza together with Walshy Fire.

“What this type of collaboration means is that as Zimbabweans we are able to tap into uncharted territory which we stand to benefit a lot from as these DJs perform in front of stadiums full of people and have millions of them in their reach to share their work with,” Abra Tribe boss Njabulo Nkomo aka Tytan said.

Tytan said this type of collaboration enhances the growth of Zimbabwean artistes as well as adding value to their brands as they are exposed to wider markets that apprentice the arts.

He added that the local music industry had also greatly improved in terms of quality due to the pressure that artistes had to fit into the international market.

“As we have merged with widely recognised touring DJ Major Lazers, this will strengthen our position in terms of experience as well as the facilitated penetration of Zimbabwean music on the international scene and the single which we are releasing next week is a sign of more work from the merge,” Abra Simmz said.

Major Lazers, which is one of the biggest touring DJ entities, has been behind most singles and remixes of artistes, including Vybz Kartel, Snoop Lion, Sean Paul and Busy Signal’s recent hit, Watch Out For This.

“My love for music is not based on its origin as I have love for many African artistes and I am just learning like the rest of the world about Zim dancehall and other genres, so it will take time and persistence to fully understand it,” explained Walshy Fire.

DJ Walshy Fire explained that the working relations with Abra Records were a fruitful venture as the participation on the current project had been overwhelming and had also given him another view on Zimbabwean music.

“Abra and Jusa are both very quick as any changes on projects are done within a day, which means they are excited about the merge and project, making me eager to get this to the world,” he said. Furthermore, Tytan said Walshy Fire would be working on and promoting Afro beats during his international tours. He added that Zimbabweans needed to simply perfect their craft through practice and research and also further sampling their works to constructive critics that would help with correcting any wrongs.

“After all is done artistes should showcase their work to markets that are both local and abroad so as to get that recognition of their prowess in music,” said Tytan.