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Zambian folk musician, Mumba Yachi launched his fourth album at a colorful ceremony at Pilatus yesterday.
The 13 track album titled, “I am Lenshina” contains tracks, among them, Mayo, Africa, Zambezi, Levure , Fulwe and Shame on you.
An evidently thrilled and excited Yachi, chanted on stage that launching the album felt like Christmas, New year and his Birthday. He put up a spectacle performance which left revellers wanting more.
A dedication to all women, Yachi said the album was in memory of Kendake Amanirenas, Makeda (Queen of Sheba), Kimpa Vita, Mirriam Makeba, Wangari Mathai, Queen Nzingha Mbande, Mbuya Nehanda, Mulenga Lubusha, Jeanne D’arc and Muhumusa Yennenga.
In an interview with LusakaVoice, Director of Mojo music, John Mwanza who is also Yachi’s manager, described the album as a huge success.
“It’s a great night, this confirms our belief that we should go back to our roots, to the way music is supposed to be, getting people come together and play music. I am ephasising that because there is a lot of music being produced from computers. We got two people making an album.
“We strongly believe that if you go into a studio and make a studio album, you will be depriving people who have mastered the guitar, drums, trumpet a chance to make a living out of their skills,” he added.
Mwanza said it took them seven months to produce the album as they faced a lot of challenges.
“It took us seven months to produce the album. There were a lot of hiccups as we had to get the right team behind Mumba. It was imperative that the people who were coming on board understood the vision. Before that we were setting up a live studio in Olympia,” Mwanza said.
Commenting on the issue of piracy, Mwanza said, “Piracy is a big issue. It has come to a state where you launch an album like tonight, but chances are high that tomorrow, it will be on the traffic lights. We can’t let that defeat us, we encourage people to buy CDs that are authentic and original,”.
He said the future of Zambian music was through promoting it successfully to the international market.
“There is always so much money you can make. The real revenues that will make a difference in our artists lives are in promoting them well enough for them to do international shows.
“Every album that comes out of Mojo Music is above board. We have an international network we work with. The moment we finish an album, we get producers around the world to scrutinise it. So when we make the final album we ensure that we are making Zambian music which can feed internationally,” Mwanza said.
