Local Maskandi group hopes to succeed
Amaqhamuka, a Maskandi group based in Barcelona, Etwatwa, is helping to keep young people off the streets, by introducing them to this traditional style of making music.
The group started in 2012, when three friends, Zwelo Thwala (24), Mhlezi Hlatshwayo (21) and Gabgab Khumalo (19), wanted to take their love for the genre to another level and record their own album.
The group has since grown to 14 members in total, with ages ranging from seven to 24.
“Being in the group keeps us away from crime and being idle in the township; a lot of us in the group are still in school, so this also helps to keep us busy after school,” said Khumalo.
The musicians have been fans of the authentically South Africa music genre and were inspired to create their own songs.
“We grew up listening to many great Maskandi artists, including Imfezi Emnyama, Mjikijelwa, Thokozani Langa, Indidane and Dlamlenze and, while listening, we realised that we could record own songs,” explained Thwala.
So, in 2003, the group recorded their demo, ”i-R1000”, which has done very well and gained them fans.
“The title track is a love song about giving your potential love a R1 000 as a token, to show that you are able to look after her and a promise that you will be for her in all aspects, including financially,” said Hlatshwayo.
Although the group has been around for some time, they are still looking for ways to grow the brand and take it to other parts of the country and, hopefully, the world.
“We’d like to spread a message of taking pride in your culture and heritage – with people moving to the urban areas, the youth, especially, forget where they come from and we’d like to remind them of that.
“We want to represent a positive image of not only being Zulu, but also being African,” said Thwala.
Amaqhamuka will be performing on May 3, in Barcelona Extension 32, as part of the Siyabhiyoza Maskandi.
The group’s brand manager, Lawrence Mthombeni, says: “We’d like the group to have a uniform that all the members wear when they have live performances so that fan can easily recognise them.
”They also struggle with transport, as they are quite a large group and we usually spend quite a lot of money to transport them all at once,” explained Mthombeni.
Mthombeni can be contacted on 079 148 7218, or Thwala on 072 418 1760.
