The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
THE path to greatness is not for the faint-hearted but designed to accommodate only the daring.
That is the story of local gospel music producer, Tremier Msipa, who dumped his Mining Engineering degree programme and ventured into music full-time.
The Harare-based producer is a protégé of arguably one of the best ever music producers to come out of Zimbabwe, Andrew Baird.
Baird rose to prominence after producing chart-topping records with Celebration Choir, Prince Mafukidze, Kudzai Sevenzo and Pastor G.
Msipa met Baird after graduating from Bible School.
“Bible School went well; I graduated and piano lessons were going very well, I was now even playing for the main band at Celebration Church which was a big deal for me. I then realised that I needed to learn more about music and how it all come together. So I devised my next plan which was to work for Andrew so I asked him if I could work for no pay and just learn.
“But he was not really keen since he was not hiring so I offered to clean the studio, make tea and entertain his guests,” Msipa said.
Msipa would get closer to Baird while cleaning the studio and preparing coffee, and would later sit in on recording sessions.
“Eventually he would let me use his computer to edit small stuff. I learnt a lot about life from Andrew in between my making coffee for him and cleaning his studio. One of the major things I picked from him was his amazing work ethic.
“He was really committed to what he did. The greatest thing about him is just how he was and still is passionate about his work. I believe that drives him to want to do everything to the best of his ability and this has played a major role in shaping his successful career path,” reminisced Msipa.
One day an overwhelmed Baird needed help. “One time Andrew was working on an important project I can’t quite remember what it was. And he needed something that really mattered done for one of his important clients. But he was out of town and guess who was there? I worked hard and I believe I did a great job which led to a job offer as his assistant, which was one of the greatest moments of my life.
“I worked fairly hard and learned so much from him mainly his style of production and how to direct a band. I wish I had more time with him because he is truly a genius in music production. He just sees music in an amazing way — the biggest lesson he taught me is how to put music together.”
Baird decided to move to South Africa and extended an offer to his protégé to join him.
“I felt Zimbabwe had more to offer me. So I decided to stay and start my own studio, which began a long hard journey,” said Msipa on why he did not move to South Africa.
Baird has since started his own production company in South Africa and has worked with a number of artists who include Mango Groove, Kabelo, Blackbyrd, Elvis Blue and Lloyd Cele.
“In 2009 Andrew set up his own production company in Johannesburg, South Africa called Orangotang Music and has scooped several awards such as Safta and Gold Promax awards, Metro FM Award as well as Sama and Wawela nominations,” said Msipa.
On his part, Msipa now owns a studio where he works with gospel musicians.
“I really only produce gospel music because it’s the message that I believe in and I believe it deserves priority over all other messages, it’s all about Jesus and He is the centre of everything. So I don’t think I will ever have enough time to produce any artiste who is not a Christian or is not promoting Christian themes since there are so many Christian artists to produce.
“I love making Christian music, I love what it’s about, I love that it counts in people’s lives and I like to believe it will also count in the next life. I’m also very careful about the artistes that I pick up. I always prefer someone I know or someone I have a sense really believes in what I believe in. And for that reason I do turn down some offers to do work until I feel it’s right,” he said.
Msipa has worked with Takesure Zamar, Celebration Church, Janet Manyowa, Eugene Nyathi and Comfort Manyame; and is horning his piano skills at a college.
Born and raised in Bulawayo, Msipa learnt at Mpopoma High School where a friend of his brother introduced him to the keyboard. In the years that followed, he would join the church band, and after enrolling at the University of Zimbabwe to study Mining Engineering, Msipa had second thoughts and dropped out in his third year.
“I knew the things I really loved which was ministry and music. But just looking around I saw that the pastors and musicians I considered to be successful had a job somewhere so I devised a plan.
“My plan was to go to Bible School and learn more about ministry to really see if it was my thing, and then take proper piano lessons with the guru Andrew Baird and then take it from there,” narrated Msipa.
