adminNgqwele Dube, Leisure Correspondent
HOUSE music artiste, Squash has set his sights on storming the Pan-African video music station Channel O with his hit single “Ngikulindile”, whose video was recorded in South Africa a fortnight ago.
The music video was shot after the musician concluded a licensing deal with South Africa’s DJ Mthi HD for the track to be featured in the disc jockey’s compilation.
Squash, real name, Schwarzenegger Mafarachisi, said the track has the potential of appealing to a wide audience and working with DJ Mthi will enable him to explore the South African market and the wider African market.
“Ngikulindile”, a mid tempo house tune, has been doing well on the local music circuit with the track receiving generous airplay on various local radio stations.
The tune is set to be featured in DJ Mthi’s compilation house album that is expected to hit the market by the end of next month and the icing on the cake is that “Ngikulindile” is the main single hence a video for the song being shot.
The song has already been released as a single and has reportedly been making waves on the dance floors of Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and other cities where DJ Mthi HD has been on tour.
Afro Platinum Music has publishing rights over Squash’s music and the label’s executive producer, Reason “Rizzle” Sibanda said the music video was shot at various premium locations of Johannesburg such as Kyalami, Sandton and Rosebank.
Rizzla said they believe the song has what it takes to be an international hit competing with other top music videos on Channel O. He said the most critical aspect of their licensing agreement with Mthi, real name Mthiwekhaya Gqamane, is that it allows Squash to feature prominently in the song’s promotion and video.
“In this world of complex music deals, artistes that license their music to a complier usually do not feature anywhere in the promotion of their music. However, this is a win-win deal because it enables us to market Squash in South Africa through Mthi’s compilation. The agreement is only restricted to SA allowing us to retain the rights pertaining to other territories,” said Sibanda.
He said they are intent on producing quality music that can compete on any international platform and he believes Squash’s track fits the bill. Sibanda said the agreement with DJ Mthi has seen “Ngikulindile” getting airplay on SA national radio stations like Umhlobo Wenene FM and 5FM among others.
The Bulawayo-born singer, composer, producer has also released two other house tunes, “You are beautiful” and “Looking back”. According to his biography at Afro Platinum, Squash is multi-Afro-lingual artiste who exudes passion for Afro pop music, soul music and electro-dance sound. He is self-made and independent with a keen interest in hybridisation of musical sounds.
Squash has his own home studio, where he produces his work and having the combined talents of being a sound engineer, composer and vocalist has seen him producing his own music.
The Harare-based artiste said his influences include global sensations, Morgan Page, Deadmau5 and Dennis Ferrer.
Following the video shoot in South Africa, Squash featured on Star FM’s Breakfast Club which is hosted by Napster and Nikki although on the day Nikki was away.
“The show was great because it allowed me to interact with music lovers and the feedback that I received was great considering that local house music has not really been given that much of a chance,” he said.
Squash is a graduate of Fort Hare University in South Africa where he completed studies in Communication and Applied Management in 2011.
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