Michael Mahendere ‘gets personal with God’

His wife Vimbayi provides backing vocals on some of the songs, while his elder brother Amos and his two sisters also feature prominently on the project.
The album is part of a praise and worship series called “Getting Personal With God”.
The project is a snapshot of what is to come as Michael expects to launch an album under the series once every quarter of the year.
He said the release of the album does not mean that he is no longer part of the famous Mahendere Brothers, in which he sings with his three siblings.
“Many were wondering if this is a split,” said Michael
“It is not a split because you cannot split blood brothers.”
At the colourful launch, Michael captivated the audience with songs such as “Jehovha”, “Wakatakura Kuipa Jesu”, “We are Soldiers”, ‘Hossana” and “Holy Forever”, taken off the album. The performance was being recorded live for a DVD that will be released soon.
The launch was attended by hundreds of people, including other musicians such as Lawrence Gunda of Gospel Power, Pastor Hubert Chigumira, Mudiwa Mtandwa, Sebastian Magacha, director of Zimpraise Joseph Madziyire, Willis Wataffi and the Mahendere Brothers.
It was a launch befitting an album that is expected to captivate gospel music lovers in the country and beyond.
In fact, the album defines the emerging talent in local gospel music that is represented by such youthful artistes as Michael.
A departure from the Mahendere Brothers’ high tempo beat, the songs on Michael’s album are purely for worship.
It is Michael’s sharp and clear voice which is the most dominant on the album and sets the tone on the worship songs.
The real difference the album will make is that the keyboards are starting to come to the front once again and this comes out the most on “Holy Forever”, which mixes a quirky keyboard motif and pop rock styles.
“This album is a mixture of so many good songs, but with different arrangement,” said Michael. We are not singing about our problems. We want to create a situation where people just love God and worship him. God loves worship and he wants to be appreciated every time.”
Apart from the lead vocals, Michael played the keyboard and did drum programming on some of the songs.
He was backed by some of the best guitarists in the country such as Clive Mono Mukundu on lead, Carven Gumbanjera on bass, Anthony Gasani on acoustic and his brother Misheck on rhythm.