The Sunday Mail
Alexander Manyeruke
IF gospel music had a monarchy then indeed, the latest entrant from the Mechanic Manyeruke family line would qualify to be the next in line to the throne; the heir apparent.
Alexander Manyeruke is the latest to enter the world of music after his father and younger brother Emmanuel aka Guspy Warrior.
But there is a sweeter twist for his father.
The newest Manyeruke is not imploring people on the dance floor to bend over and touch the ground; he is not instructing them to make-believe that they are picking something up in “Seunononga” style — instead, he is asking them to take the straight and narrow road to heaven.
His debut offering is the gospel scorcher entitled “Bukira reVhangeri” and it promises to smoulder the scene with its hot tracks and musical arrangement.
After all, Alexander, like his younger sibling Guspy, attended the legendary Msengezi High School, whose Terminus Msindo led Msengezi High Choir spawned hits like “Ngaisangane Africa” as the first school choir to record a commercial album in the dying embers of the ‘90s.
Out of the school also came names like Macdonald Macdee Chidavaenzi, Guspy Warrior, Braim Abram Chimbetu. It is the Eton equivalent of musical excellence indeed.
Alexander was thus educated in the right corridors of musical excellence, no doubt.
Picture this; six golden tracks laden with rich lyricism from the navel of Biblical interpretation assisted by rich succulent variants of sounds, which scintillate the musical connoisseurs’ ear with thick raspy vocals that drip gently like tears of wild golden honey. Does that tantalise your senses? It has to without doubt.
And there is a unique edge.
“My father didn’t know that I was recording. I wanted it to be a surprise even for him and didn’t want this project to be one about Manyeruke’s son. I wanted to be my own man and to make my own music and then have my father’s advice at the end of my music-making and artistic process,” says a confident Alexander.
So name recognition was not one thing he wanted to ride upon, unlike other sons and daughters of the music dynasties.
“I know I will have to prove myself outside of the shadow of my father’s work so I wanted to start outside of that shadow from the start.” And he has done it the right way.
He has not even nicked a song off his father’s great discography and obviously he has not featured the great doyen of gospel music on any of his tracks. Now that’s a maverick!
“I am hoping to launch the album soon — I have just been delayed by finances. I want it to touch hearts and reach far and wide so a great launch is what I am hoping for. All those who can assist me can do so in order to revive gospel music from way back, which I have tried to recreate,” he says.
And there is a great act planned for the launch, people will get to see the musical trinity of Mechanic, Alexander and Guspy Warrior performing alongside each other in a rare on stage collaboration.
