LYRICAL guru Ernest Tanga WekwaSando, pictured, is back with a new 10-track album — Zagga — that is scheduled for a colourful launch at Harare’s Theatre in the Park next Friday.
This will be Tanga’s 15th studio album, three years after launching Tanga 101. The seasoned musician has invested a lot of resources — time and money — on the album as he strives to prove his mettle in the music industry and that he can take on the younger generation anywhere, any day and any time.
“Zagga is a fusion of musical beats that I derived from our traditional genres including mhande and jiti among others. To me, Zagga is very special as it defines who Tanga WekwaSando is,” he tells the Daily News.
The 10-track album contains tracks such as Vavisa, Newe and Makandinzwa Nani.
“On Vavisa, I was encouraging people, particularly the Zimbabweans, to uphold the virtues of unity and oneness. It is a nice sing-along track. Newe is a song that celebrates the power of teamwork or partnership either in a family or community,” he said.
On Makandinzwa Nani, the star urges people to preserve their culture.
“As much as we want to achieve global standards, it is very important that we do not do away with our culture because that is what makes us unique,” Tanga said.
Tanga — is one of the few remaining artistes from Zimbabwe’s golden generation and has been recognised as a master of his art as a Nama award-winner in the year 2004 and All Africa Kora Award nominee for best Southern African Artiste 2005 for his tracks like Nyenyedzi, Paidamoyo, WeKuMbare —also remixes hits Wake and Buhera on the new album.
“The hits are coming now under Zagga beat. Buhera is now titled 99-9-2-10. I am happy that I am not the first musician to play mhande but I am the first to play Zagga,” he says with exuberance.
Sando’s musical journey can be traced back to the 1970s when he played the tambourine and saxophone for the Salvation Army youth band.
“It was an interesting journey. I still vividly remember that my first commercial gig was in 1971 with the Harare Mambos. Of late, I dedicate most of my time, about five hours a day, to music production,” he said.
Three years ago, Sando released the album Tanga 101.