Chronicle Editor
Mthabisi Tshuma, Online Correspondent
A BULAWAYO based arts organisation, Emkulwini Listening Session, has resumed its listening sessions for works yet to be released as a way of helping artistes to fine tune tracks that they intend to release.
The listening session, a brainchild of Prince Mazilankatha aka Imbongi Kamthwakazi are held at Hloseni Arts. The first event was held in June before it was shelved due to Covid-19.
Announcing the comeback, Mazilankatha said, “We are so much excited to announce that we have resumed our listening sessions last week Wednesday.
“As Emkulwini Listening Session, our aim is to help musicians produce world class music. We do this by providing a platform for musicians and their entire production team to sample their yet to be released music to an audience of invited music experts, other musicians and producers, broadcasters, club DJs, promoters and the ordinary people.
“This audience will then give constructive criticism and advice. After the session, it will be upon the musician and his/her team to go back to the studio and fix whatever that needs to be fixed before releasing the final product,” he said.
Mazilankatha said the sessions are open to any willing musician regardless of genre, gender, religion, tribe, race or political affiliation.
Mazilankatha said their first session in June saw them host Madewa and Abantwana Bensindiso Yama Nazaretha, who are relatively newcomers in the industry.
“The group now has their music on rotation in local and national radio stations with another song on number 4 in a local radio station’s gospel top 10 chat show, thanks to Emkulwini listening sessions.
“Special thanks goes to Hloseni Arts for offering us their venue and my nephews and nieces, who are now helping me run the project. We are also calling well-wishers to help fund the project as we fund it from our own pockets without a profit” said Mazilankatha.
Commenting on how it all started, Mazilankatha said: “During the lockdown I spent a lot of my time listening to our local radio stations and some of the music I head there to me was not in that standard that I wanted so as someone who loves Bulawayo and believes that I am part of everything that comes out of Bulawayo I had to come up with a way of helping my fellow artistes.
“No one pays anything to be part of this. Our first session was on the 8th of June this year. The flow of our sessions was then disturbed by the introduction of level 4 lockdown a week later. Now we are back again and we are making it a weekly program.” — @mthabisi_mthire
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