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Blessings Chidakwa Arts Reporter
If it is love, Romeo and Juliet are the names to think of!
Theirs is arguably one of the greatest love stories of all time, and one of the most well-known.
But Zimbabwe has its own Romeo.
We might not be privy to his love affairs, but when it comes to guitars and sungura music, Romeo Gasa is charming.
He is short in stature, but energetic when he does what he loves the most, singing.
Of course, has not yet reached the level of sungura kingpins like Leonard Dembo or John Chibadura, but he hopes to be there one day.
Gasa has been on the musical scene for some years now trying to become a household name, but sometimes progress has little to do with speed, but much with direction.
This weekend, Saturday to be precise, it is his moment again to prove to music fanatics that he has what it takes to sit on the top table.
The Extra Valembe frontman will be releasing his new album, “Phone yaBaba iMhiripiri”.
It is his eighth project and it carries 10 songs.
Philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said all life is an experiment, the more experiments one makes the better.
That is exactly what Gasa has done this time around.
He said on his latest album he was trying to modernise the sungura genre, moving away from the sound that has got many artists labelled as copy cats.
Gasa is releasing an album of what he terms ‘the birth of modern sungura’, with some tracks having a fusion of rhumba.
“The album will capture modern sungura,” he said. “It’s not the regular sungura that people are used to.”
It will be up to the fans to judge the project.
Talking of the title, “Phone Yababa iMhiripiri”, Gasa said it was a message to spouses that they should respect each other’s privacy.
“Some of the divorces or misunderstandings being encountered by couples these days are emanating from invading privacy of each other’s cellphones,” he said. “The name of the album is trying to encourage people to respect privacy, especially on cellphones.”
For the album launch, Gasa has chosen Longchen Plaza in Belvedere, Harare, a favourite hunting ground for sungura musicians when it comes to album launches, with Mark Ngwazi having launched his own this year at the same venue.
Online Reporter