WONDER where Gift Amuli has been all this time?
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA
This December, the sungura musician is set to release his new album, titled Stupendous and, in his own words, it is going to be a “festive season treat” for his fans!
And if the title is anything to go by, the offering is no misnomer.
“I realised that the project was bigger than all of my previous albums,” said the forgotten sungura star.
“It is futuristic and it takes sungura to a whole new level. So, it’s big.”
The new album will drop exactly on Unity Day, with a launch at Tanza Centre in Chitungwiza where Amuli will for the first time give a foretaste of the sungura fusion.
“It might sound strange, but I have collaborated with Zimdancehall artistes to bring different melodies.”
On the new six-track album, Amuli has roped in Zimdancehall artistes like Hwindi President and Baga.
Apart from featuring Zimdancehall artistes, the album is set to dazzle, what with Amuli’s fusion which is set to revolutionalise how people listen and view sungura music.
“We cannot keep on doing the same thing over and over. So, while we enjoy our sungura, we also need to move with the times and fuse it with other genres for continuity’s sake.”
The former Zvishavane Sounds band member says there was a need for sungura music to adapt to new sounds.
One of the tracks, titled Manyepo, will make Sungura fans stop and think.
The feel-good song still has those lead guitar riffs, but then the bass and the rhythm are different from the twing-twang of original sungura. However, the fusion comes with changing instruments to include mbira, replacing the oft-used tempos.
And yet Amuli’s vocal clarity engages you from start to finish. Other tracks to look forward to on the album include Bulldog, Shami, Ndiyeye, Rwendo Rweupenyu and Madiro.
A good composer-singer and songwriter in his own right, Amuli hopes to bounce back at the top as one of the sought-after sungura musicians.
“I urge fans to come in their numbers as we unleash this fresh sound. Featured at the show will be Hwindi President, Baga and also DJ Ollah 7. DJ Ollah has promised me that he will be playing some serious party songs at the event,” he said.
Amuli last put an album out in 2017, titled Masvingo. It carried the hit, Wamakatuka, a danceable number which dominated the airwaves.
Masvingo, recorded under Gramma Records, includes his other five previous projects. Stupendous will be his first album after he went independent.
The new album will also be uploaded to his YouTube channel where fans can easily access it.
