Alleluya Band on Italy performance tour
One of the most celebrated gospel music groups in Malawi, Alleluya Band leaves for Italy in May where they are expected to hold up to 40 live musical shows.
In an interview with Nyasa Times from their base in Balaka, Band leader, Coss Chiwalo said they will leave Malawi for Italy on May 23 and return on August 1.
“This is an annual trip, which we undertake but this time around we will have more shows; up to 40 shows although there is a probability we could even have more than this,” said Chiwalo.
The group, which has produced several renowned musicians such as Lucius Banda and his brother Paul, Charles Sinetre and Charles Nsaku, among others, would however, leave without Paul Subiri as he is working on a new album, according to Chiwalo.
“All the other members are on the trip and we are even taking with us a new dancer,” he said, without disclosing the new dancer’s identity.
Last year, as in the previous years, Alleluya Band performed in Italy. They also participated at the World Youth Day in Spain.
“People should not confuse these trips, because our visit to Italy is an annual project but the World Youth Day is something different. It was supposed to be held in 2014 in Brazil’s Capital, Rio de Janeiro but because of the World Cup which will be staged there that year, World Youth Day will instead be held next year, 2013,” explained Chiwalo.
He said that every time they make trips outside the country, they come up with new songs which are eventually compiled into an album.
“We have new songs which we are currently practicing and mostly we focus on songs fused with traditional dances. We have songs like ‘Baobab’ which was conceptualized after noticing that many foreign tourists who come to Malawi fall in love with this tree so we felt that it was a special tree to sing about,” said Chiwalo.
Last year, the group recorded ‘Wala Wala’ during their trip to Italy. Chiwalo said their new album will finally hit the market soon.
“The album is long overdue but now the consignment is here. We are planning to launch the album, which was recorded in Italy and after the launch, we will incorporate songs from the album in the rest of our performances,” he said.
Some of the songs featuring in ‘Wala Wala’ include the song ‘Nyumba’, which features Lucius Banda.
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