Audius, a bundle of talent

©️  AUSTRALIAN-based musician Audius Mtawarira, pictured, remains among the most sought after music composers and producers.

A gifted singer, Audius was born in Guruve and started producing music in 2002.
He produced the majority of Selwyn’s album, Meant to Be, which peaked at number nine on the Aria album charts and was certified Gold.

In 2003 he collaborated with Delta Goodrem on Innocent Eyes, co-writing and producing the number one single Born to Try, which debuted at number three before reaching number one on the Australian singles chart, becoming Goodrem’s first number one single.

In 2004, Audius produced Australian Idol contestant Paulini’s debut album One Determined Heart which produced number a # 1 hit called Angel Eyes and was certified Platinum. In 2005 he co-wrote fellow-Idol Contestant Ricki-Lee Coulter’s Hell No which reached number five on the Aria singles charts.

After some great musical success over the years in 2013, Audius worked as a music producer on the Australian movie musical production Goddess and in 2019 he co-wrote, produced and mixed To Myself performed by Alfie Arcuri for the Eurovision ‘Australia Decides’ competition and the song was amongst the top 10 finalists and to compete on a live broadcast on SBS.

Audius’ solo work has earned him great popularity in Africa where he has released six albums including Audius (2002), Ever After (2003), Music and Me (2005) and Day Like This (2008). He won the Best Urban Grooves (Male) at the Zimbabwe Music Awards before also winning the Best RnB Urban Album award for House of Stones In October 2016.

In 1996, Audius left Zimbabwe to further his studies in Perth, Western Australia at Edith Cowan University. He later moved to Curtin University to complete his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Graphic Design.

The Daily News on Sunday Lifestyle Writer Tinashe Sibanda recently caught up with Audius and below are excerpts of the interview:

Q: What challenges have you faced in your musical career and how did you overcome them?
A: My biggest challenge is getting the same respect in Zimbabwe as I get internationally. I think it’s beyond acknowledgment and what I would prefer is to be a part of a sustainable industry that appreciates my past contributions instead of being compared to emerging talent.

Q: How do you view the country’s current music industry?
A: I love Zimbabwean music but I fear we have created an industry that cannot export its content therefore we should probably prioritise consistent quality and more genre variation. This can only happen with support from airplay and the media because not everyone wants to get drunk and dance to music, thus we must uplift all genres.

Q: In your view how is today’s music different from that of yester years?
A: Today’s music is produced in a much faster industry where artistes are less focused on the sound and more focused on the image. The audience is also inundated with too much content.

Q: What advice would you give to those that intend to pursue music as a career?
A: It is a tough industry; only pursue music if you are prepared to see it through; and if you do, make sure you’re honest with your artistic expression.

Q: Where are you currently based?
A: I am currently based in Australia.

Q: How and when did you discover your musical talent?
A: I discovered my musical talent at school where I always participated in school talent shows, the choir and played several instruments like the piano, drums and the guitar.

Q: Are you in a relationship/married and how many children do you have?
A: I am married and have three children.

Q: What are you currently doing musically?
A: I have collaborated with a South African-based producer called ShonaSA on a conscious dance music project that has already rolled out two spectacular video clips.

Q: What inspires your lyrical content?
A: I am inspired by real life events and I’m also inspired to make a change and contribute as God has given me a voice to do so.

Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I love carpentry and golf.

Q: I hear you are into farming; if so where and what are you farming?
A: I love farming. My family is a farming family and we have been farming as far back as 1993. We have farmed everything from cotton to cattle.

Q: Name something your fans would be amazed to know about you?
A: I have a plant based diet for almost six months of the year. I believe the consumption of meat is unnatural to the human being but we are used to it so I succumb to that desire for only half a year.

Q: Who do you see yourself collaborating with in the near future and why?
A: I have an interesting collaboration with Nox that I’m sure will please the listeners.

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