adminFred Zindi MusicGilbert
Muvavarirwa is a seasoned musician who spent some time here in Zimbabwe recording music as well as undertaking academic studies. He successfully completed an MBA degree. On seeing that his music was going nowhere in Zimbabwe, he moved to South Africa where he established, with assistance from other Zimbabweans such as Dhelani Makalima, Shamiso Music and Entertainment. For the past seven years, this company has produced several music artistes from the continent with their latest being Willom Tight.
Most of us will remember Willom Tight as that fresh voice from Mabvuku around the year 2000, who did duets with Dino Mudondo.
Two years ago, in 2011, after years of silence and long after his split with Dino Mudondo, Willom Tight bounced back with an album that was set to consolidate his status as one of Zimbabwe’s top musicians. The album, titled “Chinyerere”, received a considerable amount of airplay on the local radio stations.
The success of this album was also largely attributed to his departure from the kind of style he had been used to while he was still together with fellow musician and close friend Dino Mudondo, with whom he recorded a number of duets among them “Bhazi” and “Makoikoi”.
After the split, Willom seemed to have disappeared from the musical scene for quite some time.
Willom, on being asked why he had been quiet for a long time, said his sabbatical was largely due to inadequate funding to record more albums.
“I have been silent because I wanted to record my own self-funded projects and desist from relying on sponsors hence the long absence.
“All three of my previous albums were donor-funded projects,” said Willom Tight, adding that he had also been concentrating on live performances at private functions.
On his relationship with Dino, he said there was no bad blood between them.
“We are tight bosom buddies. The only thing is that Dino has his own band while I have my own. In fact, at some point, there were some music promoters in Maputo (Mozambique) who requested us to go there and perform together.”
“Chinyerere” was Willom Tight’s fourth album released after “Ndinoda Wangu” (2000), “Hodzeko” (2003) and his 2007 project “Kuza Ngoma”.
“On ‘Chinyerere’, I was simply saying that I might be quiet and humble but my music cannot afford to be quiet as it addresses a variety of issues affecting people. It is an album that reminds people of the Willom Tight they have always known and it is about maturity,” he said.
Tracks which are poignant on this album include “Yabatwa”, which shows the confusion that grips some people when money comes their way and the title track itself’ “Chinye-rere” which describes his silence and absence from the scene for a while.
However, all this is now in the past as a new and fresh Willom Tight is on the rise again. This year he stopped worrying about self- sponsored projects, because he once again found a willing partner in Gilbert Muvavari-rwa’s Shamiso Music and Entertainment with which he has worked in the past and who have produced his latest offering, “Manifesto”.
Willom Tight a.k.a Wilbroad Muponda, after signing a contract with Shamiso Music and Entertainment, the South Africa-based multimedia group which manages his music affairs, has finalised the recording of his international album. The album, “Manifesto”, carries 15tracks, among them five collaborations with international artistes. The album “Manifesto” has triggered a lot of interest signified by the quality of international collaborators who have blessed the album, as well as, the song “African Paradox” featuring Salif Keita which has been selected as the main song for an international movie/documentary which is scheduled for release in March 2014.
“African Paradox” which features Salif Keita affectionately known as the “Mansa of Mali” or “Golden voice of Africa” was the last song that was recorded for the album “Manifesto”.
The collaboration came about after a meeting between Gilbert Muvavarirwa, the CEO of Shamiso Music and Entertainment and Salif Keita and his management. Before Salif Keita could meet with Gilbert Muvavarirwa he insisted on listening to Willom Tight’s whole album first before he could even entertain the thought of collaborating with an unknown artiste. Upon listening to Willom Tight’s album, Salif Keita was totally gob-smacked and he immediately requested for an urgent meeting where he expressed his interest in participating in the project.
Willom Tight and Salif Keita recorded the song “African Paradox” at Shamiso Music and Entertainment recording studios in South Africa.
According to Gilbert Muvavarirwa, Salif Keita was so impressed with the outcome of the recording session and he immediately expressed his intention for future collaborations with Willom Tight.
Salif Keïta (born August 25, 1949) is an afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the “Golden Voice of Africa” but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Emperor Sundiata Keita.
This royal heritage meant that under the Malian caste system, he should never have become a singer, which was deemed to be a griot’s role. However, against all odds, he chose to be a singer and proved everyone else who was sceptical about his albinism and ability to do anything, wrong.
The collaboration with Salif Keita is the final confirmation that Willom Tight has finally broken into the international music industry together with the fact that his song “African Paradox” has been being selected for an international movie/documentary. The ‘Manifesto’ project will, among other things, introduce Willom Tight to the international community. This album, as its name suggests, is a published verbal declaration of Willom Tight’s intentions, motives, and views pertaining to his career.
This, however is not the first time Willom Tight has had to do business with Shamiso Music. He and Gilbert Muvavarirwa have been friends for a long time.
Willboard Muponda, a.k.a. Willom Tight made waves on the local scene with the album ‘Ndinoda Wangu’ in 2000 before releasing another scorcher ‘Hodzeko’ in 2003, both under Shamiso Music and Entertainment. He was to part ways with the company and went on to record
Kuza Ngoma’ in 2008 and ‘Chinyerere’ in 2011, but they have found each other again.
Some of the tracks from the upcoming album “Manifesto” include “Ndewangu – Ndoni Yamanzi”, “Imi Munosara Naani”, “Africa”, “Mvura Naya-Naya” and “Summer Love” among others.
Willom Tight will commence shows in Zimbabwe during the festive season and international performances have been scheduled for 2014 for the promotion of the album “Manifesto”.
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