Art Sees no Bounds. Interview with Musician Blessing Chimanga
Blessing Chimanga is a multi-talented artist from Zimbabwe, who was a part of Woodstock festival India 2017
1. We see that you are a young, well accomplished artist from Zimbabwe. How did it all begin? Do you come from a musical family?
Well let me start by saying Thank You for the compliment. Well, it all started in my mothers womb. I was born and created a musician. My family appreciates music but none of them are really into music. My mum to an extent is musical as she is a part of the church choir. We are a family of 5 people, my brother loves music so much and my sister is definitely my number 1 supporter.
- Well in short my musical journey started when I was 8. I used to play empty tins, pots and toys to make a drumkit in the backyard of our house. The passion grew so high that one day the church drummer did not come and I managed to jump in the drumkit and played.
The energy and the inspiration that came that day completed my life journey.
From now playing at church, I then went to high school and was part of the school band which I got further training to become the musician I am today. Let me make it open that I have been blessed with the amount of knowledge I have about music today. I have learnt a lot just from watching other musicians, asking questions and just taking deliberate steps to find information. I was a big session drummer in Zimbabwe for good 10 years before I decided to start my projects and focus on my own work and style. It has been a challenging and exciting venture so far.
2. You’ve been playing ever since childhood. However, when you decided to make your career in music, was it easily acceptable?
It was definitely not easy to get accepted. My own family could not even accept judging to how well I performed in school and also how the music industry was performing. I stood my ground that I am different and truly with my music I would live a good life one day. I had to make them understand that for me being a musician is more than talent but it is definitely what I was born to do. The greatest thing that worked for me to get accepted by family, religion, community and all was that I allowed my passion and hard work to speak for itself.
3. What kind of music have you grown listening to? Have there been any artists/ bands that have influenced you?
Oh yes I grew up as a Jazz appreciation artist. A few artists, yes have definitely influenced me in one way or the other. Oliver Mutukudzi a big Zimbabwean icon has played a big influence especially in my composition work and general perspective to stage performance. I adore people like Kirk Franklin a gospel legend from USA and yes he has influenced much on my charisma on stage and other African artists I have played and collaborated with have all contributed to my sound today.
4. You play the drums and the marimba and you are also the vocalist of the band. What do you sing about?
I sing about Life. My main message is on encouraging peace and happiness to this world. I sing about how LOVE is precious and the journeys I have walked in love. My music is there to do 3 things. It is there to Inspire, Motivate and Ignite peoples' dreams and give them hope for a better tomorrow.
5. You’ve collaborated with quite a lot of international artists and performed in a lot of cities. Which one was your most memorable performance and why?
Wow this is difficult to answer as I treat every performance the same. I give my 100% passion to each performance and it is difficult to say which one has been the best. I will just anyway mention that all my concerts in India and Indonesia have been very memorable to me.
They all had something special from crowd,beautiful audience, great stage etc.
6. You played in India before; How well is Afro-Jazz received in India. What are your views?
The response has been great. This is new music to India and so it will take time to be big but it has been accepted with open arms. My other view is that the marimba has played big role in making my act and the sound be revived by the Indian audience. It is totally different but because music is a universal language the appreciation is growing everyday.
7. Your first two albums were great hits, we’ve heard you are working on your third album. What is the third album about?
Very grateful for the support that yes my 1st Album was received well and my 1st Live DVD also received great attention. Now this coming album will be a double dose with an audio version and a DVD version. I am aiming to record this live and have it energetic just as our shows. The 3rd album will feature a lot of my music collaboration songs with other artists across the world. My dream is to have this album as a Global record that will be sung across the world even to places that I may not be able to reach.
The 12track album will be out and ready as my birthday present to the world this December. I also look forward to do a world tour with this album.
Some of the songs on that album are the hit songs pumping our shows on tours as of now and we glad we will be able to have the music ready for the people soon.
It will be an album that will bring smiles, peace and happiness across the world.
8. What's next for you? Tell us about your future plans.
A lot is in line but to mention that I am currently working on the live recording for the new album and also doing some video releases of the music on the old album.
Also starting to strategize my world tour of the new album and ways of making sure the album will be BIG.
I will not stop working for the future until I hold my GRAMMY AWARD in my HANDS.
