by Patrick Mwanza, Malawi, January 1998
THEME = CULTURE
Malawian musicians have come of age
and found a sound which they can call their own
Malawian musicians have reworked traditional songs usually sung during weddings and initiation ceremonies for boys and girls, so as to produce big "hits"
"What we are now playing is music rooted in our own traditions. Our forefathers created this music and it belongs to us," says Emmanuel Manda, leader of Love Aquarius, a top band in Blantyre.
Malawian bands have for over two decades, been struggling to find their own sound. They either played rhumba or reggae which people said was alien to their culture. And when they played that type of music at gigs, it was mostly copying someone else's work. So why the turn-about now?
Manda is a member of a musicians' association. He says: "In 1995, we went to a music workshop in Zimbabwe. We found that Zimbabweans were playing their own type of music. Zambians were doing the same. You listened to a song and could tell it was South African. When they asked us to play our own music, we couldn't. We had to come up with something."
The roots of the new music are found in traditional dances like Ngoma, a war dance, and Mganda, Mwinoghe, Manganje and Beni which are usually performed after harvest or during weddings.
Apart from writing songs about relationships and love, the musicians have gone a step further to compose songs that address the issue of AIDS. Other songs are political, calling on the authorities to provide a solution to the high cost of living, unemployment, corruption and crime.
Urban teenagers usually lap up western culture. Now they have the opportunity to listen to "new music". At parties, sophisticated youngsters in fancy haircuts, baseball caps worn back-to-front, big designer T-shirts, pants to mid-calf and high- top shoes, dance to the new music. Not so long ago, only a country bumpkin listened to this type of music.
Mwiza Ndovi is an ardent music fan. He says that Malawian musicians who liked to copy from other countries, have finally come to realise that their own music is best.
Funsani Malikebu says there is high demand for Malawian music. The return to Malawian roots among the bands is reminiscent of the 1970s, when organisations like the parastatal Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Band, composed and played what many agreed was authentic Malawian music.
Patrick Simakweli, who has been in the music business since 1973, says foreign music was cheaper to market than local music, thus putting many musicians out of business.
Musicians' uncertain future didn't encourage aspiring musicians to go into the business. People like Eddie Mwakamo who played in a school band, and had thought of making a career out of music, quickly changed his mind. "There's no money in music and I had to do something else," says Mwakamo who is now a businessman.
Exploitation disillusioned some of Malawi's best talent. Some abandoned music and turned to what best could put bread on their table, or they left the country.
There was Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma, who, because of her talent, was likened to the famous South African singer, Miriam Makeba. She used to broadcast in Malawi before joining the South African Broadcasting Corporation where she still is. Sydney Banda is today a top jazz musician in the United States. He played at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1992. Chris Kandoje went to South Africa where he played with reggae star Lucky Dube. Those who remained at home and played folk- music did not get anywhere. Dr. Daniel Kachamba, a music genius who played a 12-string guitar, died a poor a man in 1989. He had been conferred an honourary Doctorate in Music at a contest in Austria. Then there's the blind musician, Allan Namoko, who played a banjo, and travelled as far as Finland.
There's also the question of copyright. Attempts have been made to clamp down on piracy which is rampant in Malawi. Last year, the Copyright Society of Malawi, plus musicians and police led by Ministry of Culture personnel, raided music shops and confiscated thousands of pirated tapes. These were later burned at a music festival in Blantyre.
Manda thinks more ought to be done to protect Malawi's own musicians. He says that musicians would like the government to control the amount of foreign music broadcast by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. However, not everyone agrees with this. Malawi has just emerged from an era of harsh censorship laws. The state controlled what people could see, hear or read. By rejecting the single-party system, in place for 30 years, Malawians say they do not want to be dictated to. They say they voted for the right to receive information without any hindrances.
Perhaps the final remark should go to Emmanuel Manda. He says: "We have beautiful music right here. There is a lot of talent. We could use some support."
END
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