GOSPEL DIGEST
IF JOYOUS Celebration was a child, then that kid would be of legal age now.
It has been 18 years since Jabu Hlongwane, Mthunzi Namba and Lindelani Mkhize formed the group for what was a once-off celebratory gig.
But the group has gone from strength to strength, releasing a CD every year.
And this year is no exception. According to Mkhize, their next project is set to be the best yet.
“This is a project that focuses on the choir and their singing techniques. We are looking at how the members operate individually and how that affects the group as a whole. Last year we did a homecoming album so now it is time to look into how all the pieces of Joyous Celebration come together,” he said.
As a technical musician, Mkhize is particular about every decibel the choir has created and for the first time he wants to break down their unified sound into smaller parts so that the listener can understand the effort that has been put into the collective work. It will be like listening to an a cappella group as they first sing the solo parts then blend them all together.
“It is a complicated process and I know I can get too technical, but we are striving to break this process down to levels where the listeners really get to understand what we are doing.
“You don’t have to be an artist or a singer to get what we are getting at,” he said.
That said, Joyous Celebration will not move away from their general formula which includes renditions of popular traditional songs as most of their fans enjoy that aspect of their repertoire.
“We will not stop arranging known songs because that is our way of preserving our older musicians’ work. Some people think we should stop doing covers and I feel they don’t understand the process.
“When you rearrange a known song, that’s not doing a cover, that’s musicianship. It is easier to make a new song than rearrange a known one because with the latter people can easily compare what they know with what you came up with. We enjoy and welcome that challenge,” Mkhize said.
Without divulging names Mkhize said there would be new choir members on this project as with every other project.
“Joyous remains a training ground for young people who want to break into the music industry. There is a substantial amount of new talent who should add something interesting to the group. Fans should brace themselves,” he pointed out.
The 18th annual Joyous Celebration offering will be recorded at a church in Durban between December 20 and 21.
“We have decided to use a church as opposed to any other venue because we are looking for that church ambiance in our sound. We need it to come across as intimate; the fans should feel very close to the performers like they would at a church service,” Mkhize explained.