Atoht inspires Patience Namadingo & Faith Mussa

Like I said before right here Ellias Missi known in showbiz cycles as Atoht Manje is a self-made artiste who started his career by toying around with dancehall before discovering what more agree is closer to a Malawian beat.

He craftily used his crackly voice for dancehall in tracks like Majelasi and Lululu until he did Tizipepese, mistakenly called by his fans as Mabvuto.

My description of this beat then will not change now as I still think it’s a fast paced beat or merely hurried up beat sounding like a fast paced traditional Manganje beat. What is strikingly noticeable is that he is self-taught in the aspect of producing tunes that have come to be liked by music lovers.

It is ChePatuma built in the Sikiri tempo that captivated many including fellow artist Patience Namadingo.

Immediately after seeing how this track performed on the music scene Namadingo came up with his and called it Goliyati which took after Atoht's ChePatuma style.

Recently Faith Mussa has also released Selofoni which others still believe it is pointing at Atoht Manje's influence.

While for Namandingo it is unmistakable that it’s a copied style, honestly for Faith I cannot say with certainty that it indeed is. There are several differing elements that has made me doubt if indeed there was an inspiration from Atoht.

What I like about this whole scenario though is the fact that at least for once the inspiration is coming from within. We have complained before that there is just too much copying from international musicians.

I have always wondered if we have a Malawian genre.

I was once tempted to believe that the 2012 hit by Fikisa called ‘Ademwiche’ which is commonly but wrongly (or rightly?) known to the public as ‘Akamwile’ was going towards charting the way for Malawi.

It has however proven that our quest for a fixed and well established Malawian genre, has been tedious at times and it will not end any time soon.

The other day Lucius Banda told us that we were there with his ‘Zulu Woman’ beat while Edgar and Davis thought a beat like ‘Kale-Kale’ was it; so were the sounds that emerged from the Lhomwe belt of the likes of Alan Namoko and Chimvu River Jazz Band and Michael Mukhito Phiri.

But it is the people that thought this was it, because as you can see, even Namoko had no idea what he was churning out, and this is the reason he thought his backing band was a Jazz set piece.

Robert Fumulani, likewise, had no distinct genre for Malawi and in one of his tracks he did what he thought was a fusion of reggae and Khunju traditional dance and called it Khunju Reggae.

Peter Mawanga and a certain sector of the industry believe he has cracked the elusive code to establish the much sort after Malawian genre with his type of music; but the response has only fascinated the ear of those that can read music.

Ever heard of Honjo? It is a sound that emerged from the folds of Ndirande and this was Sunny B proclaiming the discovery of Malawian beat with what he was panning out.

Up in the north, Body Mind and Soul has what it calls ‘Voodjaz’.
Body, Mind & Soul started like a reggae band, but band leader ‘Street Rat’ claim that after reflecting on the importance of sharing Malawi ancient culture in modern time and after much thought and experimentation they created a new music concept they call ‘Voodjaz’, a subtle mix of traditional rhythms with a jazzy feel.

Now when all is weighed and measured may be the attraction of Atoht beat by the other artists will mean something, of course not the Malawi genre yet but something considering the elements that Faith has put is his Selofoni track.

Atoht Manje rising from the ghetto furore

Ellias Missi known in showbiz cycles as Atoht Manje is one self made artiste. I first saw him as an opening act in the Warge produced Itchoke-itchoke medley riddim video which also features late Mafunyeta’s ndikanakhala nyerere .

Well, honestly I just dismissed him as one of the confused youths that had just crammed the entertainment spaces and at the same time mentioned in the same breath as Binge, Tikka, Malinga Mafia, Bingolingo, Big Ta, Chizzy, Blaze, Matia Killa, and Khekhe or is it Khekhi Matia.

Such a musical din, seemingly seen as experimental with the Mabiringanya Empire, also had its contribution from Namasina, Gibo Lantos, Dawn Damage, Roy View, Teddy Muva, Kapadocia Futali, Ceaser, Benjie, Azizi, Phada-Man, Khacoolbah, Bwi-Man, Tamnyata, Trata Dmus, P-Star, Ababa, Tony C, King Gebuza, Senior Gz, Blasnet and Chaddy D among plenty of them. They would all vocalise over one long riddim.

While a few above names can now be counted as having musically excelled, not many really considered Atoht as one to make a mark amongst them until he started dropping tracks like Majelasi, Lululu, Tizipepese, and etcetera.

Atoht is endowed with a crackly voice which is suitable for dancehall or ragga genre. The tracks like Majelasi and Lululu really came riding this genre until Tizipepese, which his fans call Mabvuto came in. It’s fast pace borders on something that can best be equalled to a Congo beat or merely a local hurried up beat like fast paced Manganje as he would love to call it.

Then his songs go with a signature tune of gun blazing sound which he produces with his voice other than computerised programmed sound.

When one listens to Atoht’s productions with a trained ear, you would easily notice that his lyrical structure is messed up. He literally follows his heart, the result of which is a general appeal to his fans but an immediate shock to music teachers.

Every time there is national commemoration during Mother’s Day his track Lululu controls the airwaves. Majelasi on release was also the tune of the moment for radio stations as well as entertainment spots which favour Tizipepese more because of its prowess to force all listening to it to take to a jive.     

His music videos have its unique mark that is built around his personal figure but this does not mean in any way that it has to be turned into anything academically acceptable.

Apparently Atoht is also not into music full time as he is into motor vehicle mechanics, meaning he cares less whether or not his music will bring him fame and dough. It’s like he just loves making music, right from back there in 1999 when his uncle and brother took him down the art of playing a guitar.      

What is strikingly noticeable is that he is self taught in the aspect of producing tunes that have come to be liked by music lovers. He adds drama to his videos while his lyrics have lines that can best be suited in a Winiko play script as they border on jocular jibes.

Perhaps when all these are rolled into one they make Atoht stand out from the din of noise emerging from the ghettoes and makes one to listen attentively.

It’s not a subject for debate on whether Atoht is talented or not. What I find in the young man is raw talent that needs not only to be guided but nurtured as well.

Therefore, I await the day that this ‘mechanic musician’ will meet a serious music manager who can take care of this talent and move it to another serious level.

You cannot rule out the fact that Atoht is contented that he is making good money out of his music but I dare say that such money even by South African standards are just crumbs.

He needs to conquer all even without jumping the borders and earn his place.