Unveiling Mazabuka's Joseph Phiri

Wed, 14 Jun 2017 12:02:10 +0000

By TERENCE MISELO
MAZABUKA based musician Joseph Phiri says his debut album ‘Khutila Nazo’ is set to place him in a special position in the country’s musical platform as a counselor bent on promoting mature songs.
The newly unveiled musical album is a glory, loaded with messages of counsel to the Zambian youth, and all those that can interpret his lyrics.
Speaking in an exclusive interview from his Mazabuka base, the reggae artiste said, “Better days lie ahead and in the hands of those that consider to take the wise counsel of those that came before them.
“And in particularly those that are willing to share message of their experiences to ease drawbacks that may be found in the way to adulthood.”
Quoting from the Bible Phiri said, “Be as calm as a dove and wise as a serpent, ”every experience and situation comes with lessons and demands such impartation as that comes with reliable knowledge, “to be a grown-up, one passes through a lot and at the end of the day, some things are necessary to avoid. This can best be provided when one learns from teachings as provided in my music.”
He said the world has developed trends that can be very confusing, that the young people ought to be cultured in old ways for them to appreciate where they are coming from and where they are going in a state of preparedness. For this reason, he plans to use his music for education.
“The disappearance of an insaka in the life of the young people of the modern day is rather a disadvantage.
“In the old days, when I was a young boy, back in the village grannies used to share with us stories of courage, from real life experiences to help up appreciate life and the value of defending our families when trouble comes.
“We were taught these morals to acquire an understanding of what was in store for us and prepare us to walk for long in the journey called life.”
Phiri said his venture into music is worthwhile in that it has seen him over the years preoccupying himself as a teacher and influential in his vicinity as a community builder.
The seasoned composer has penned hundreds of songs which are today queuing for recording.
On how he found himself into music, Phiri said, “There was a time I used to play football for National Assembly that is when l was first introduced to reggae music by an elder brother Esau Phiri and a friend Estone Chilombo.
“At the time I used to listen to songs by Bob Marley and would write the lyrics word for word, coincidentally a friend Kelvin Simbeya was astonished by my talent and challenged me to pursue music, which l later did.
“This turned to be my introductory moments to my modern musical journey. At the time I bought a book and started writing songs. I listened to people like Peter Tosh, Lucky Dube, Paul Chapuka, Billy Kaunda Milaka Maliro among other renowned artistes at the time.“
His sizzling 10 track album, is endowed with conscious tracks comprising of Ambuye Yesu, Mwambo, Chisanzo Ukwati, Ndalama, Mapeto, Dalitso, Phunzila and Mabanga. The catalogue is expected to be available for commercial distribution in due course.