CHIZI TALKS LAKE OF STARS FESTIVAL IN MALAWI

Dan 'Chizi' Aceda will be the first ever Kenyan act to play live at Lake of Stars Festival, Malawi’s annual international arts festival. In a year of firsts, Lake of Stars will also be screening Pumzi, Kenya’s first science fiction film by Wanuri Kahiu, in the festival’s cinema area.

The festival takes place from 30 September to 2 October on the palm fringed shores of Lake Malawi. The line-up cements Lake of Stars’ reputation as a truly global, naturally Malawian event with dozens of Malawian acts being joined by talent from across Africa and beyond, including Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, France and the USA.

Launching the Lake of Stars 2011 line up, festival founder Will Jameson said “It’s hard to imagine a better festival than last year- our biggest and best to date. But this year we’re going to be taking our best ever line up of talent, featuring African legends, new international acts and the best of Malawian talent, as well as theatre, spoken word and dance.

Introducing some of the headline acts, Jameson said: “This year we are really excited to have one of the world’s greatest live acts, Foals, headlining the festival. Foals are fresh from playing a selection of the world’s most prolific festivals this summer to incendiary reactions, so it’s only natural their next stop should be what Q Magazine has described as the ‘finest festival in the world’.







“We’ve also got Freshlyground performing their first ever public Malawian gig. They have been on Lake of Stars radar for a number of years, so we’re proud to provide a platform for their first ever public performance in Malawi. Plus we’re privileged to be welcoming back Black Missionaries, living legends of the Malawian music scene who have rocked Lake of Stars whenever they have played”.

“Baio, the bass player of New York band Vampire Weekend will be keeping the crowd going after hours. Baio’s DJ sets have rocked clubs across the globe from Ibiza to Paris and Sydney to Seoul, but this will be his DJ debut in Africa.”







Hot Secrets caught up with Chizi and threw a few questions his way...



How did you get involved with the festival?

Well, this year the goal was always to play a lot more concerts outside of Kenya so my team and I were actively looking for such opportunities. So we applied to the festival and through my manager Buddha Blaze (the best in the business) and sent in my music and clips. The festival organizers loved it and that was that. They offered us the opportunity and we grabbed it quickly! Blaze worked tirelessly to put this together, I am very grateful to him.







Do the Malawi fans and market have a feel of your music? Have they heard any of your singles?

That’s an interesting question. Now with the internet it’s much easier for us to share the music internationally and so I am sure that Malawi has heard a few songs. In any case if they haven’t then this is our chance to introduce them to it. Besides all that, over the past year we have worked really hard to get the music into the international circuit so I am not worried about that. All we have to do when we get there is play a good show!



Is this your first major continental performance? if not please tell me about the others.

Yes this is the first time I will play so far away from home. I mean I have been a part of productions that have toured other countries but this is the first time I am going on tour on my own merit.









How does it feel being the first ever Kenyan to play live at Lake of Stars

You know I actually had no idea that I was to be the first Kenyan to LOS, so it was quite exhilarating. It’s an honor to stand before any audience to perform but if you then become some kind of ambassador for your country then the honor is doubled. To tell you the truth, Im still reeling from the reality that I will in a sense be “carrying the Kenyan flag” to a festival. And I may never get over the fact that I will be sharing the stage with big African acts such as Freshly Ground and The Foals…



You will be donating the Mabawa Initiative charity supplies soon. Tell me what the plans are in place and what the feeling is on the ground about the initiative.

Well, the actual date is First week of September because the kids are on holiday right now. The plan is to get a Caravan of cars filled with books to deliver these books to Mungoiya Primary School in Kiambu County. Simple as that. I am very grateful for all the support that the Mabawa Project has received so far and look forward to the future with optimism. People are handing me books while in traffic! It’s really encouraging. As soon as we can set up formal drop off points we will be able to increase efficiency. If we keep going like we are now, we may oversupply the kids very soon!

WHY FRESHLY GROUND CANCELLED THE EAST AFRICAN TOUR

South African group Freshly Ground were scheduled for three shows in Kenya Tanzania and Uganda this weekend but they cancelled citing, "the fact that the organisers had not met minimum contractual agreements as agreed upon with the band's management."
The group was booked to perform on December 8 at the Movenpick Palm Hotel in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, December 10 at the Barn, Ngong Racecourse, Nairobi, Kenya and on December 11 at La Bonnita Theatre, Kampala, Uganda.
Zolani Mahola, the lead vocalist for the Afro-pop band stated: "I am sad and deeply disappointed that the tour has been cancelled. We have been working hard for the performances and all of us in the band were very excited….I hope we get to perform there in the near future”
Freshlyground formed in early 2002, and is made up of seven talented and diverse musicians from South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Fronted by the diminutive but dynamic Zolani Mahola, the band exudes a live performance energy that has been the bedrock of their success. The experienced rhythm section of Peter Cohen (drums) & Josh Hawks (bass) is complimented by guitarist Julio Sigauque, keyboardist Seredeal Scheepers, Simon Attwell (flute, mbira, sax and harmonica) and violinist Kyla Rose Smith. Although hailing from diverse backgrounds, between them the band’s members weave a musical magic that is highly infectious and undeniably groovy.



In 2003 Freshlyground launched their debut album, Jika Jika under their own Freeground Records label, the immediate success of which firmly cemented the band as one of South Africa’s most successful young acts.

Freshlyground released their second studio album Nomvula in July 2004. Nomvula was recorded and produced by JB Arthur and Sibusiso Victor Masondo. The album sparked interest from Sony BMG Africa, who signed the band and released Nomvula in September that year. Radio quickly picked up on the single ‘Doo Be Doo’ and the catchy song went on to become a crossover favorite amongst a diverse spread of stations and their listeners. ‘Doo Be Doo’ was the most played song in South Africa in 2005. The major success of ‘Doo Be Doo’ was followed by the singles ‘I’d Like’, ‘Zithande’, ‘Things Have Changed’ and the title track of the album ‘Nomvula’.




The album sold 300 000 units in South Africa alone- earning it multi-platinum status. The success and broad appeal of the band was celebrated in November 2006 when Freshlyground won the MTV Europe Award in the category Best African Act. The award placed the band firmly on the international music map and earned them further recognition on home soil as significant South African cultural exports.

The success of Nomvula was followed by that of Ma Cheri - Freshlyground’s third studio album, released in September 2007. The album’s release was followed by a major South African tour attended by over 25 000 people across four cities. The tour was produced by Freshlyground and supported by Volkswagen South Africa. The tour successfully raised the performance and production standards of local touring, putting the band on par with international acts in terms of production scale and value. Ma Cheri sold multi platinum in South Africa and the single Pot Belly became another major crossover success.

In 2009 Freshlyground did 4 sold out tours in Europe. They also toured for the first time in China, the United States of America and Canada, making the band one of a handful of South African acts to have a successful and sustainable career both internationally and at home.

Now, with their already GOLD fourth studio album, ‘Radio Africa’, Freshlyground is preparing to broadcast their unique sound, a sound that has turned the seven-piece into one of South Africa’s most treasured acts, to the rest of the continent and the world. While putting the finishing touches to ‘Radio Africa’ in New York in February this year the band was selected to co-perform in the Official Song for the 2010 World Cup.



Entitled ‘ Waka Waka- This Time For Africa” the song is featured on “Listen Up: The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album™,” and is a collaboration with Colombian superstar, Shakira.
Freshlyground performed Waka Waka live at the FIFA Kickoff Concert and the Word Cup Final game between Spain and the Netherlands which broadcast to over a billion people world wide. To date ‘Waka Waka’ has sold well over 4 million singles and reached number #1 on several charts worldwide. The song is the most successful anthem in the history of the FIFA World Cup and has introduced Freshlyground and their music to a host of new fans across the globe.
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