Abanqobi launch gospel album
A NURSE, a pastor and a hotel manager barely make up the conventional ingredients for a musical group but somehow Abanqobi Ngegazi Lemvana somehow make it work. Affectionately known by their small and still growing fan base as Abanqobi, the group is strictly a family affair.
The group consists of Jeritha Mlauzi, a nurse, her brother and former Gwanda Choral Group vocalist Pastor Jedmos Moyo, their younger sister Skha Moyo-Msipha who manages Gwanda Hotel and their niece Jaclyn Moyo.
“We have always loved singing,” says Jeritha Mlauzi, the matriarch of the family group. “Our father was a preacher and we basically grew up in the church so we used to sing at church, scripture union and at Sunday school as children and with time, the idea of singing grew on us.” She said.
Realising that they were a family of talented musicians, and drawing inspiration from regional acts such as Rebecca Malope and Hlengiwe Mhlaba, they decided to turn their hobby into something bigger.
They performed at weddings, social and church events as the Moyo family but only branded themselves as Abanqobi late last year, in preparation for recording their first album Kadunyiswe which was was launched on 29 October at Emganwini Apostolic Faith Mission Church.
For their first album, Abanqobi targeted congregations as their market.
The eight-track album covers already existing music as well as original music by the group. The fusion of tried and tested music with new music is meant to broaden the reach of the album.
“This album caters for anyone in any church. You will realise that there are traditional Christian hymns that the older generation and traditional churches will appreciate and then there are the new, more upbeat songs that the youth and Pentecostal congregants will find more appealing.
“It brings people together regardless of their denomination,” said Moyo.
The album is being sold at Emganwini AFM church and from the group members at $1. Moyo said this is because gospel related material should not be charged at high prices.
“We feel a dollar is a fair amount to charge for the album because firstly, people should not pay expensive fees for things of God. Also we do not do this for the money. We sing as a testimony of what God has done for us. We were brought up in the Christian faith and this is how we repay the Christian community,” she said.
In the spirit of going forward with the gospel, the group has already started working on videos for Kadunyiswe and is looking forward to recording the second album in which Moyo said they are hoping to do things differently.
“For our first album, it was just us and our producer, Joe Maseko but for the next one we want to rope in professional instrumentalists and make it bigger than this one and with time we might even have our own band, “she said.