The Sunday Mail
Prince Mushawevato —
IS sungura king Alick Macheso under pressure or has he simply blended with local showbiz trends? Macheso aka Baba Sharo is back in the studio working on his 11th album, barely eight months after releasing “Tsoka Dzerwendo”, The Sunday Mail Leisure has gathered.
The musician had already told this reporter in June, as he celebrated his 48th birthday, that he was no longer going to rest on his laurels as had happened before. In that regard, the vocalist and guitarist said he would henceforth be unleashing new material every year without fail. And he appears to be sticking to his word.
The sungura icon has already started work on a yet to be titled album. Information made available to this publication indicates Baba Sharo has already recorded two songs for the six-track album. Apart from work on his album, the musician is also reported to have set in motion plans to release a collaboration with Zim dancehall sensation Soul Jah Love later this year.
Macheso told The Sunday Mail Leisure, “Ndanga ndisiri kuda kutaura nezvatiri kubvonga kusvika zvaibva (I did not want to talk about work in progress) but I will share a few details with you. Ichokwadi; mustudio tadzokeramo zvakare (It’s true we are back in the studio) working on our next album. I wanted to quietly work on it and surprise my fans. Less talk, more action.”
“If you remember I told you I would be releasing an album every year following the release of ‘Tsoka Dzerwendo’ and the position has not changed. It is going to be album-after-album for the next four years.
“I have been sampling some of the songs during our live shows. Most of our fans know about them. Unfortunately I cannot give you their titles. Probably the one I call ‘Joyce’ at the moment will have a different name when I finally release the album and that might cause confusion,” he said coyly.
It took Macheso close to five years to release “Tsoka Dzerwendo”, which followed “Kwatakabva Mitunhu” (2012).
Accordingly, pundits opine this somewhat affected Macheso’s market ratings as he created room for younger artistes – particularly in Zim dancehall — to flood the market with their products in the process diverting attention from sungura. The King of Sungura has felt the impact. He had to abandon his traditional way of doing business.
For the first time in a career spanning more than 15 years and nine albums, Macheso this year held his first Press conference and an album launch in March, working with Jive Zimbabwe, Nash Paints and Red Cross Zimbabwe. No one would be wrong to say Macheso has finally learnt to do modern showbiz.
These days, top artistes release songs and albums quite frequently without waiting for older material to first fizzle out. They also do big launches as a matter of routine. Macheso has hopped onto that bandwagon.
His albums like “Simbaradzo”, “Zvakanaka Zvakadaro”, “Zvido Zvenyu Kunyanya”, “Vapupuri Pupurai”, “Ndezvashe-h”, “Zvinoda Kutendwa”, “Magariro” and “Vakiridzo” sold like hot cakes.
But he spaced them widely. That worked then, as it built fans’ anticipation for what would come next. Times have changed and the need to remain relevant mean albums have to come closer together. The affable musician has a different view, though.
“I usually work with my instinct and if I feel I’m ready to produce an album then I will do so. I will never be pushed by circumstances to go and record, I’m sure everyone knows that. When you see me record and produce it’s a sign that my band and I have certified that it is good for the listeners,” asserted Macheso.
“The new studio (Alema) has played a major role in motivating my decision to release albums annually. Take for instance we now record everything including practice sessions and that has made our work easy. We play back everything and it’s easy to come up with new work that way. Using other people’s studio is always difficult.”
He does concede that approaches to business have to keep changing.
“It’s now different. Long back we used to release music in the festive season as a way to promote the marvellous time but that has since changed. People want new things every time and it’s no longer about Christmas. We released in March way after Christmas and New Year and the trend will be the same going forward. We will no longer pay attention to this old habit of releasing music around Christmas time.
“In that regard let me also take this moment to encourage Zimbabweans to behave this festive season. We don’t want to lose lives unnecessarily. They are the reason why we have survived this long. We appreciate their support and will probably give then something to dance to this festive season.”
For now, music lovers wait eagerly to see what Baba Sharo is cooking.
