Saturday 3 July 2010

Blocking the Rising Musical Stars Due to State Innovation Absence

Peter and Silence Kahowa are brothers that have patience which at the moment has paid them on one side.
I know all of you are wondering who Peter Kahowa or Patience Kahowa are because in as far as those that have strutted our musical corridors are concerned, they have never ever shown their noses yet.
But I want to promise you here today, that in these two brothers, Malawi has stumbled unto other musical geniuses that are on the verge of taking the musical world by storm.
I want these to be a case for our lessons, I mean for the people that have joined the music industry and trying to succeed undeservedly.
The brothers realised how talented they were and while resources were limited and disabled them achieve their success; they exercised a great deal of patience when they finally got assistance as they took close to two years recording nine songs which they have compiled into an album they are calling “Usazitengere”
Of course as is the case with many musicians in the country, they have displayed their ability to juggle around with different genres. The local reggae beat in the album is a floater, it has a classical blues, and of course what all of us have agreed to call ‘traditional beat’.
By Malawian standard, all those that thought Skeffa Chimoto’s ‘Nabola Moyo’ coming was all what they were expecting will have to re-think their position because the Kahowa brothers have one weapon that sold Chimoto to the musical lovers which is their voice.
The crisp voice is ably made to easily take a cavort through the well thought of instrumentation that proves once again that it is never the place where the studio is situated that can chart success for the budding musicians.
Now when all is said, there is now a chance that Peter and Silence Kahowa, like many other talented young boys and girls are faced with the threat of not even gracing the corridors of the country’s music industry because they do not have what it takes to make the next move.
A lot of talent in the country has died at a hatching stage because what would have been star-studded musicians have ended up becoming a pimple on a skin that is unwilling to allow it to flourish like hair does.
As a country, for how long should we allow talent to die at an embryonic stage just because we have no structures on the ground that can open up windows of opportunities for the young people with talent.
Initially, the country positioned itself to be producing graduates at secondary education as well as tertiary level who would be doing white collared jobs.
For whatever reasons, even when the University of Malawi’s Bachelor of Arts has a musical aspect, there is no musician worth his or her salt that has graduated through the ranks and become a star.
What it means therefore is that since the university’s offer of arts is just a mere necessity where scholars are only fulfilling the billing that they ever strutted the corridors of a University is it not time to look at something else?
Look at our Technical Colleges, is it not time that musical subjects have to be introduced in these institutions as well. I will discuss about my idea of this at one time.
It is therefore clear that Peter and Silence Kahowa would make a name in music if only there is a sponsor who would come up to their rescue since the authority that is entrusted with our tax cannot think better ways of making them stand up and survive on their own. My Malawi!
Feedback: drummingpen@columnist.com

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