Maszanga
Namibia?s newly discovered talent, Maszanga, has entered the entertainment scene with a force to reckon with.
From singing in the school choir, to performing on stage at the talent shows, the group?s mounting popu?larity does not come as a surprise to many of its fans, as the group takes its music to the next level.
?Maszanga means something mas?sive that has an impact, that when it explodes it has this massive impact,? describes Key, one of the members.
The group, made up of three young musicians, Pedro, Key and Hasho, has become one of Namibia?s top performers and has been slotted on many entertainment scenes to per?form at various high-profile corpo?rate events.
?We consider ourselves as cor?porate performers as we are quite in demand to perform at corporate events.?
Although the group has come to the fore recently, it has been working underground for the past nine years, and their first project in 2006, was titled ?Breathe?.
In 2007, the group members who met in school, decided to pursue their love and passion in the art of music and record with Arafat. Coming from outside Windhoek, the group faced financial challenges involving the frequent trips to and from Windhoek for recordings.
The talented trio became known to the Namibian music lovers with their first single ?Nale?. The group describes their music as a fusion, of Namibian tra?ditional music, cultures and modern mu?sic.
Maszanga believes that in order to truly appre?ciate music, one must look at all the aspects of music. The group puts emphasis on the importance of un?derstanding music especially for the growth of the local music industry and is inspired by the diverse beauty of the Namibia.
?Namibia is so wonderful with a lot of languages. Knowing that we are Namibians and we have these dif?ferent cultures is what inspires us as musicians,? Pedro says.
?In this album we touch everybody everywhere,? Key added.
Each member has unique music sense which when put together, re?sults in beautiful productions. Pedro says he draws his inspiration from a fellow artist Hishishi Papa, who features on the number 10 track, ?Nda Pwakela? on the latest album ?TJAAAII?.
?Hishishi Papa does this roots mu?sic and I find inspiration from his music,? Pedro says passionately.
Key finds his inspiration in the work of the local artist, Qondja say?ing although he does not have the same style of music as Qondja the artist inspires him.
?Qondja?s music is very mature and you can listen to him when you are depressed and feel much better,? Key said adding that the South African artist Thando inspires him because they share similarities in their music.
With the on-going drive to take their music to the net level, Maszan?ga took the bold move to work on their first album.
In early 2010 the trio joined 777 re?cording label to work with the respected Na?mibian pro?ducer Arafat. After two years of nurturing, grooming and polish?ing, Maszanga?s first album ?Tjaaaii?, finally hit the waves.
The NAMA 2012 nominees say that they want people to receive the album and consider it as therapy.
?We do not want people to just lis?ten to the album as just another al?bum, we want them to really listen to the music,? Pedro urged.
Maszanga have made it clear that they do not intend to only stay with?in the borders of Namibia and that they aspire to see their music going international.
?People in Russia and Canada download our music, we see our mu?sic going very far and winning vari?ous international awards.?
With the idea of bringing some?thing different to the music industry and thus far have fulfilled this desire, the group is working towards not only to be different but to educate and produce good music for all mu?sic lovers out there.
By Ndapewoshali Shapwanale
Source: http://www.confidente.com.na/2012/11/01/maszangas-popularity-growing/
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