Award winning apostolic choral music group Mabasa Avatumwa said they are still in the game despite being off the radar for the past two years.
by Jairos Saunyama
The Mhondoro-based six-member group, won the 2010 National Arts Merit Award as the best apostolic choral group after their song Mandigonera went viral and received massive airplay on local radio stations.
Alois Kurima, the group’s leader, said his troops are currently preparing a nine-track album that is set to be released next month.
“We are still in the game and just like anyone else we have been affected by piracy but this did not deter us from releasing albums. It is unfortunate that our last album Gore Reminana that we released in 2013 did not do well because it was poorly mixed.
“Last year, we took a break and revisited all our mistakes. We are recording our sixth album on Friday [today] at Shed Studios. The album will be out first week of March,” Kurima said.
Mabasa Avatumwa rose to glory in 2009 with their debut album Tiri Munzira that carried the hit song Mandigonera. The following album Paye Paye equally did well on the music market before trouble began in 2011.
The group lost four of its members within a short space of time, a crisis that saw the ensemble left with six members.
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Three members — David Canaan Mutariri, Matthew Majimba and Ephraim Ngozo — left to revive their old group Mabasa Avapostora while another member Leonard Kurima passed on.
During the same year, Mabasa Avatumwa managed to release the Mutumwa waBaba album which carried the hit song Mutumwa waBaba.
“We are a small group, but we can do big things. We have started sampling the new songs on our forthcoming album during live performances and the reception is overwhelming. I am confident that this album will take us back to the top where we belong,” Kurima said.
Some of the songs to be included in the new album include title track Jehovah Mufudzi Wangu, Jesu Ndichagara Naye and Udza Jesu, among others.
