BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE- Earlier this year, House On Fire announced the official 2023 CollaboNation artists as Thobile Makhoyane (Eswatini) X the Hood Brodz (Mozambique), and Mokoomba (Zimbabwe) X Morena Leraba (Lesotho).
After weeks of planning and online collaboration, the artists are starting to record their songs. The first recording session with Mokoomba and Morena Leraba commenced in Harare on May 1, 2023 soon to be followed by Thobile and The Hood Brodz who recorded in Maputo, Mozambique.
This was announced by House on Fire Communications Officer Simon Dawson who said each recording pair will be hosted in-studio for two days to create their unique collaborative song.
These songs will also have a music video filmed and produced documenting the live song performances that will take place at the upcoming MTN Bushfire Festival held in Eswatini from 26 – 28 May 2023.
“This exciting new step in the CollaboNation process is bringing to life the project goals of connecting and uniting the region through a series of unique music collaborations and building linkages between cultural industries and networks.
“The aim is to extend the reach of Southern African artists, exposing them to new audiences, media, promoters and other industry professionals, in order to access new markets and communities while developing artist brands,” he said.
In addition Dawson said, since the artist announcements, the teams have been hard at work in their own studios and connecting online in order to prepare for their time in the studio.
These exciting preparations were documented and can be viewed on the MTN Bushfire YouTube channel shorts:
“The production of the reels and the final CollaboNation videos also provide a skills training and development opportunity, with award-winning production house and long-time MTN Bushfire videography team Makhulu Media mentoring Mzwandile Kunene, Creative Director of 100 per cent Eswatini-owned and based Motion Skies Pictures, a multimedia and communications company in Mbabane,” he said in addition.
Meanwhile, collaboNation is funded by the Sound Connects Fund, an initiative by the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) and Goethe-Institut.
The Sound Connects Fund is made possible with funding from the ACP-EU Culture Programme, a project implemented by the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and funded by the European Union (EU). The Fund is also co-funded by Goethe-Institut and Siemens Stiftung.
This first edition of the CollaboNation project invited artists from Eswatini, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, giving them the opportunity to collaborate with each other by recording original and inspirational songs.
“Future CollaboNation editions will be expanded to include more countries in Africa and beyond, with the eventual aim of arranging collaborations between African artists and those from other continents, creating a truly global interchange of cultures and musical styles,” said Dawson.
