The Sunday Mail
THE hornbill is crowing, but this time producing an unusual reverberation.
Surviving dendera “father”, Allan Chimbetu, has made massive adjustments to the sound in a single titled “Mudzimai Akarongeka”, which he has just finished working on.
The Orchestra Dendera Kings (Central Committee) front-man is scrounging beyond borders and hopes to get a winning formula for the family.
Allan argues it is his duty as a “dendera family elder” to breathe fresh life to boost the genre’s waning fortunes.
“I have the dendera curriculum direct from the founders (Simon and Naison Chimbetu), thus I know what needs to be done for the sound to stay afloat,” he says.
But the new project is laden with vibes that have a rhumba bias and is nowhere near the traditional sound of dendera.
“Dendera comes from way back and some youths can no longer relate to it. Accordingly I have decided to fuse it with foreign African beats. It’s a new thing altogether but traces of dendera are still there. We are modifying the sound to suit current trends,” he added.
“I will be releasing more singles as we go. We plan to work with a number of artistes from DRC. Albums are no longer viable due to piracy. Besides singles have success stories in countries like the United States of America and that should be the case here as well.”
The single was recorded at MTM studios in Harare.
Allan plans to officially unveil the experimental project on February 16 when he celebrates his 46th birthday at Kule’s Bar in the capital.
“The owner of the joint offered to host the bash for me. There will be guest artistes and I expect all Chimbetu family members to come and support me on the day,” said Allan.
The musician’s last studio album, “Covenant”, was released in 2016 after a seven-year hiatus. It was Allan’s fourth project following “Sony”, “Professor” and “Simukai”.
