CELEBRATED gospel music couple, Charles and Olivia Charamba, staged a mesmerising performance, backed by the Fishers of Men, at the public launch of their latest albums in their hometown in Chitungwiza, with the song Abba Father proving to be a crowd favourite.
BY ALBERT MASAKA
The excited response from the thousands of fans who attended the show at the Aquatic Complex on Saturday when tracks from Abba Father (Charles) and Voice of Miriam (Olivia) albums were played, left the couple confident that their latest projects were set to rock the gospel music circles.
The couple put up an electrifying performance, which saw some fans waving their jackets in the air as they danced to the music, while others knelt in prayer enthralled as Charles belted out Abba Father during the show’s worship segment. Other popular gospel artistes, including Olinda Marowa, had warmed up the stage, wooing the crowd before the Charambas gave a scintillating three-hour act.
In a touching moment, the couple invited the late sungura artiste System Tazvida’s wife, Barbara, to the stage to receive free copies of the new albums.
Charles told NewsDay in an interview after the show that it was the couple’s custom that whenever they released a new album, they would come and promote it in Chitungwiza, where they both grew up.
“So today, it was a fulfilment of that pledge. We are not saying everyone is not equally important, but it’s just that this is home,” he said.
The musician said they were happy with the huge turnout given the economic crisis and the liquidity crunch obtaining in the country.
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“(Through) this music that we have recorded, we are saying get yourself in the closet and dialogue with the father. As you saw for yourself, the albums have been overwhelmingly received,” he said.
“Our challenge remains the same that when we release, the fans will prefer different tracks, although today there was consensus at the end of the day on one song, Our Father. To us, it’s a confirmation to say that they have received the album not as one song of the project, but as a massive project.”
Charamba also expressed gratitude to their fans for their support over the years and said they would be reaching out to market with their latest offering by holding more shows around Zimbabwe and beyond the borders.
