The Video Handiwork of Tionge Hango

Wanangwa Msowoya is one-person Malawians would easily pass as a footballer. There has been a Wanangwa in soccer and so is Msowoya and therefore all and sundry will still be convinced that he is a soccer star.
May the soul of Vic Kasinja rest in peace; I strongly believe there is no Malawian who has read newspapers for as long as the newspapers have been available who can say they do not know this name. If this name will have been frozen somewhere in the psyche, then at least the cartoon strips of Joza and Taxina will not miss out.
Now Wanangwa Msowoya and Vic Kasinja have been in collaboration in different projects the Late Vic Kasinja was carrying out for UNICEF. However, his death was not only premature in every word but it also denied Malawians a chance to sample Joza Animated Cartoon strips, which was on its way to join the Tom and Jerry fray.
The person who was behind the creation of the Joza animated Cartoon Strips was Wanangwa Msowoya. But if we missed the chance to appreciate how talented Wanangwa Msowoya is since the failure of the Joza project due to the death of Kasinja, then there is Tiwonge Hango’s music DVD which is something all music videos in the country should emulate.
The ingenuity Wanangwa Msowoya displayed in the production of not one song or ten but just five that makes up the Tiwonge Hango DVD with Afro Music is beyond words by not only Malawian standards but also any other standards that appreciate innovations in good work.
Tiwonge Hango is that lad whose musical group Tikhu Vibrations was Malawi’s first to beat the SADC region in the Music Crossroads Competition 2002 and toured Europe. Upon completion of the tour though, the band whose name was a fusion of the first two letters of his name and that of his brother Khumbo never survived to enjoy spotlight in the musical world.
However, the talent of the two lads did not did not die with the demise of the band. Khumbo went on his way and has to his name a solo album while Tiwonge superseded the elderly brother in not only going solo but formed a band called ‘Bafipa’ a Tumbuka word for the black people and the brother was roped in as a band member. He also underwent a Diploma course
He released Chinyengo Album, which had a glamorous launch in the country’s cities.
The release of the DVD version of the album has not only separated Tionge from the group of boys into that of men but has made a statement that Wanangwa Msowoya as director of music videos and hands behind its final production has set a league. Anyone wishing to join this league requires an entry fee, which has to be bagfuls of flair and inventiveness.
Take one Track ‘Maria’ whose graphics is out of the schoolboys videos we have seen around. There are scenes depicting snow and yet he only created it with maize flour, not to mention how big cities like New York and London were depicted. There is also construction of a grand piano and how it played a role.
Then there is a true portrayal of African in all the videos ‘Mama Africa’, ‘Mutuvwa Waka’, ‘Ndamusaniya’, ‘Pachiswe’.
The video like Ndamusaniya has an illustration of a city as well as a village scene. The city scene is so innovative as well, where there is a police chase the musician who finds himself into his village setting.
The project took some years although the longest video track does not exceed 6 minutes. This patience displayed in the production is what we need to emulate. It is also the involvement of experts in their fields; names of people like TVM’s Lapken Chauluka and Hastings Khomo on handling Camera and Malemba Malipenga group and Chindozwa Chilimika group of Nkhatabay makes a good fusion for the videos.
The problems with the production are minimal and now dwelling on them will steal the thunder that is potent in the DVD.