MORNING NEWS EUROPE-based Zambian musician Yvonne Mwale is set to launch her second album next month in Frankfurt, Germany at Das Bett, which is one of the top locations for live music in that country. Yvonne moved to Germany early this year after a stint in Tanzania and some performances in Zambia in order to further her career and also record her album in what is a more industry- advanced environment. The album, which she will be launching on December 14, will be her second after the critically acclaimed debut Kalamatila. For the release concert, she will perform with a full band that will include “Sir” Jones Kabanga of Zambia and Mohamed “Twaba” Omar from Tanzania. Since the release of Kalamatila, a lot has happened to the award-winning musician. Other than developing and improving her skills since, she has had also plenty of new songs to record. “In the new album Yvonne has found her very own style, a sound that is unique and manages to combine the traditional music of her tribe in Zambia with influences of blues, jazz and spirituals. The result is a contemporary piece of art that joins worlds. Songs from the heart, that are authentic African and contemporary at the same time,” according to her website. “To realise that project it was clear at a very early stage, that it would be necessary to record the album fully acoustic with the whole band in the studio at once. After evaluating some studios in Dar es Salaam and Lusaka it was found that it’s not possible to produce on industry standard there.” It is with that the decision was made to arrange for the production in Germany at a well-known production studio in Frankfurt where a good number of notable names have recorded in the past. For the recording, Twaba, a master- percussionist who has been playing with Yvonne since 2011 and “Sir” Jones, the award- winning master of the string who originally gave the songbird her musical training and shaped her vocal skills in her early days and some highly professional jazz and world musicians joined her in the studio. Yvonne was last month selected as a finalist at the RFI (Radio France International) Discovery Awards 2013, where this year, the French government radio station was again looking for the best emerging artistes on the African continent to award them with the award. The RFI Discovery Award 2013 (RFI Prix Découvertes 2013) or New Artist Award enjoys a worldwide reputation. Every year, the jury of professionals is presided by a well-known personality. From Jacob Desvarieux to Youssou N’Dour, Angélique Kidjo or Passi, the presidents of the Prix Découvertes RFI-France 24 New Artist Award bring their experience and prestige to the Award. Among the countless contestants, only 12 were chosen by the judges to make it to the finals – and Yvonne Mwale is one of them. Winning this award would be another milestone in her career since the winner receives 10,000 euros, a tour in Africa and a concert in Paris.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 05:08:28 +0000