By Redson Kandozi
The Malawian music industry has witnessed a remarkable transformation. Gone are the days when artists would toil for years to reach a million YouTube views.
Now they hit this milestone within months, weeks, or even days. This trend extends to other music streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer, Boomplay, as well as iTunes, where Malawian music is gaining popularity.
Despite this rising success, much of Malawi’s music making waves on the international scene, continues to lack the authentic sounds of its traditional rhythms, instruments, and lyrical themes of Malawian culture.
Moses Shumba, a renowned Malawian music producer popularly known as Moshu, who has produced hits like the late Atoht Manje’s “Che Patuma” and Patience Namadingo’s reggae mash-ups, shared his insights on this issue. In an interview, he said:
"Our music lacks identity because as a country we haven't yet understood the power of our traditional music. We copy other traditions, thinking they are more powerful than ours,
I wouldn't say it's bad to sound like Nigerians, but we lack that extra push when it comes to incorporating distinctive Malawian sounds in our songs."
Shumba emphasized the importance of embracing and learning from Malawian traditional music:
“It will be difficult to use Malawian sounds if artists do not embrace listening to Malawian traditional music. It’s high time artists should be proud of our cultural music, learn from it, and fuse it with the modern way of making music."
He also notes that religious beliefs play a significant role in hindering the representation of traditional sounds among artists:
"Religion stops us from doing traditional music as it is considered a sin by most religious groupings. Very few churches allow the traditional drums to be used in their churches, and patterns like Vimbuza and Gule Wamkulu are taken as evil. Hence, they are not accepted and are being forgotten as time goes by."
Mazani, an R&B musician whose real name is Chifuniro Kasiya, agrees with Shumba’s sentiments. He believes it’s good for artists to embrace the fusion of traditional sounds even if it’s not trending locally, highlighting the untapped potential of this kind of music:
"As far as music is concerned, we are sitting on a gold mine. We have a lot of traditional sounds. I think we could blend them to create different sound variations,
A good example is what Nigerians have done with Amapiano. They didn’t adopt it in its entirety but rather mixed it with their Afro-beats and created a variation of Amapiano.”
Mazani continues to explain that, though the fusion of traditional sounds might not be popular among many urban artists, this kind of music does have potential.
He cites Patience Namadingo’s “Msati Mseke,” Faith Mussa’s “M’didi,” Beracah’s “Chifupinanu,” “Mbembembe,” and the recent “Udikirebe” by up-and-coming artist Amidu Ellani as successes in the fusion of traditional sounds with modern ones.
Neil Nayar, co-manager of Madalitso Band, which performs raw traditional Malawian music and has played at significant events like Sauti Za Busara in Tanzania as well as the MTN Bushfire Festival just to mention a few, shared his views on the lack of popularity of traditional sounds in the industry:
"In Zimbabwe, traditional music is everywhere, and the Mbira sound is almost like a symbol of national pride. That’s not the same with Malawi,
Maybe it has to do with the element of colonial mindset where all things traditional, including traditional religions, are deemed old-fashioned. But the traditional music of Malawi is incredible and extremely rich."
In the era of influencers and content creators, Nayar suggests that local influencers can help in promoting this music. He says:
"Out there, people discover new cultures through music. It is an industry that craves authenticity, and this is the scene where Madalitso Band finds itself because they are true to their sound,
Local content creators could do a series of documentaries with artists showcasing this kind of music so that the public and the international audience realizes how rich and diverse Malawian traditional music is"
Nayar also suggests that the government could organize sponsored events where artists performing traditional music can showcase their talents. Additionally, introducing music lessons in schools to teach kids about traditional music could help preserve these sounds.
He also believes that having an accessible online archive of recordings of traditional music or a monthly magazine that covers artists doing this kind of music can help to promote this music especially in this digital era.
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