Online Reporter
Maria Chiguvari-Zimpapers Art and Entertainment Hub
CHINA-BASED filmmaker, businesswoman and philanthropist, Violet “ Avylet” Avoid, has now ventured into music.
The filmmaker introduced her music side last week with a new song.
Avylet said she never imagined she would one day step into the recording booth as a musician.
In an interview with Zimpapers, Avylet who is set to release her debut album “Endurance,” said the turning point came during her recent visit in Gutu.
“I have been working closely with Zimbabwean musicians for almost a decade now , writing for them music video scripts and in some instances composing lyrics.
“So, I recently visited Zimbabwe for my family’s joint tombstone unveiling ceremony where Andy Muridzo came to support me deep in our rural home in Gutu.
“We performed some songs together, unrehearsed, and my family members said the performance was so beautiful that is seemed as though we always staged together.
“Later that week, we attended his show in Marondera where he called me onto the stage to perform one of his songs I had written a music video script for.”
She added:
“As I got on the stage, all the fear disappeared and, by the time the performance ended. I made a decision to go into the studio to record music other that writing songs for other people.
“I never saw myself as someone who had the voice to sing but someone who could contribute to the music industry as just a songwriter, music video script writer and video filmmaker.
“The experience on stage with Andy Muridzo was an eye-opener,” she said.
Avylet, who is now back in China, said the new song featuring Jah Signal speaks about how most women survive in broken marriages.
“The story speaks of the struggles women face in marriages where the men cheat.
“Collaboration with Jah Signal came from the vibe of the song.
“We met at Ashumba Records and he was willing to chip in and mark the genesis of my new journey into the music industry.”
She added:
“I named the album ‘Endurance’ because that one word has defined my life.
“I served in the army before, it was in the barracks that I first learned what resilience means not as a theory, but as daily practice.
“The music we sang during training stayed with me. When my body wanted to quit, those songs pushed me forward and strengthened me.
“They taught me how to keep going.
“When I left Zimbabwe and moved to China, I had to learn endurance all over again. I was in a foreign country, far from family, without language, without networks, starting from zero.
“I pursued my career there as a filmmaker and businesswomen but it was not easy. There were long seasons of isolation, financial pressure, cultural adjustment, and homesickness. “Many times I felt like giving up and it was the discipline and the music from my army days that brought me back.”
