A little bit of imagination will help

Takudzwa Chihambakwe
Album launches are not what they used to be.

Fans who used to attend these concerts were treated to all new songs by their beloved artiste. Nowadays, most artistes just sample a few songs from the new project.

This is how Jah Prayzah does it. That is how Soul Jah Love did it last year. And a few days ago, Winky D did the same thing when launching “Gombwe”.

Not all artistes are like that.

Ammara Brown sang all her new stuff when she launched “Ammartia” last year and the audience loved it.

There is somehting else damp about many album launches: creativity is lacking.

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Besides the new attire and probably in some instances a dance or two, the entire presentation is rather mundane.

Simple things like co-ordinating lighting with the performance, such that the music is synchronised with lights, or well-controlled smoke machines that give a certain ambience to a particular track, are missing.

Sound blips are the order of the day showing that the promoters and the artistes themselves do not put much thought into organisation and presentation.

It’s all about ticket sales.

Zimbabwean artistes must up their game when it comes to bringing the wow factor to their shows, especially big, once-off launches for which many pay through their noses to get a ticket.

Imagine what Winky D could have done with the track “Highway Code” at the HICC two Fridays ago? Picture him coming on stage in a car? That could have changed the launch in an amazing way.

How about Jah Prayzah rocking up on a motorbike with troops chasing him as he performs “Ndin’Ndamubata”?

It is these simple things that can make a good performance great.

Creativity is not expensive. These things can be done at low cost if artistes and their managers use a little more imagination.

If the fans are going out of their way to pay US$10 to US$100 for tickets, then artistes must also rise to the occasion and present something truly memorable.