In 2020, Ugandan singer Azawi broke onto the music scene with her extended play (EP), LoFit, and now she has returned with āAfrican Musicā, a 16 track collection.
KAMPALA | LIFESTYLE UGANDA (http://lifestyleuganda.com/) ā Azawi, a fast-rising Ugandan musician, debuted in 2020 with her extended play (EP), āLoFitā, and is out with her debut album, āAfrican Musicā, featuring 16 tracks.
- Watch āThe Making of African Musicā album by Azawi now on YouTube.
- Then Ayo Lizer, Diamond Platnumzās producer, Azawi said he is an amazing producer.
- Afterwards, Azawi spoke about Kuseim, stating that he set the tone for the album.
- Check out the new Azawi song, āNkuchekeleā featuring Eddy Kenzo.
Azawiās instant success with her debut EP āLoFitā with songs like Lo Fit, Crazy Love, Mbinyumirwa, Repeat It and Quinamino has led to her being called one of the biggest acts of our generation.
In a mini-documentary on YouTube today titled āThe Making of African Music,ā album Azawi explained that the process has taken so long because the artist is very particular about the smallest details others might overlook.
How it started
She released āMy Yearā as the first single from her upcoming album, āAfrican Musicā, due to be released on 9th October.
In comparison to her previous releases, āMy Yearā is a very different sound from what Azawi has been releasing. It was produced by Michael Fingers and was written by herself.
āMy Yearā was planned under the assumption that 2021 would be the year in which we would rebound from the devastating pandemic of 2020, reclaim the space we used to enjoy as a country.ā Azawi said.
āreleasing the song my year, for me was like an affirmation that things were gonna change and Iām still grateful because a lot has happened that Iām grateful for. i have managed to record a lot of content a lot of music like it has been a time to slow things down and look at everything in a bigger perspective like process things in a slow way like not rushing. i must say I have done a couple of things in 2021 that iām grateful for.ā
āiām a very optimistic person i love being positive at all times and this year has been so positive to me despite whatever went down i. i connected with my family i recorded more songs and of course hearing from my fans how the song held them through the tough times is still a win for meā.Ā
āiām grateful to God for that because no cars were allowed on the road like you couldnāt do anything but we managed to trek with my producer to the studio and we recorded a couple of songs. At some times we couldnāt even go back because that would mean we would violate the curfew so we ended up like working overnight.āĀ
She added:
āMy 2021 is still a year that iām grateful for that is why I released the song my year, of course, a lot of controversies memes and throws were running around it but to me still the song was doing well because people gave it more attention.ā
āThey actually resonated with this song because yes we were having a tough time but we couldnāt keep on crying at some point you have to move on despite what youāre going through and people started like connecting with the song taking the message and somehow I believed something about their life changed in 2021.āĀ
Working on the album āAfrican musicā
In talking about her album āAfrican music,ā Azawi mentioned that working with Michael Fingers, a very special producer with a very unique ear, exposed her to so much talent.
āworking on African music the album exposed me to amazing talent Michael Fingers, heās a very special producer with a very unique ear working with him. opened my eyes to a lot of things.āĀ
Azawi also mentioned Diamond Platnumzās producer, Ayo Lizer, as a very talented and amazing producer.
āAyo Lizer he has been so successful with Diamond Platnumz, we did a track with him that features on the album. a very talented amazing producer there.āĀ
When it came to Steven Kigozi alias Steve Keys, the 32-year-old talented musician, Azawi said he is new to production, but he grasped it so quickly, and he is really doing well.
āAnd Steve Keys is really new to production but Iām really amazed at how he got the game so quickly and heās really doing so good.āĀ
Then, when it came to music producer Kuseim, Azawi said that he set the tone for the album.
āAnd my man Kuseim, i love that guy. he set the tone for the album and working with him, Kusseim understands my frequency so well, i feel like that is why weāve been able to do a lot of music he set the tone for the album.ā
In talking about Benon, Azawi said that he is a perfectionist, but it is really great to have someone who wants to constantly be on point.
Ā āI also got to work with the legendary Benon Mugumbya. At some point, I feel like heās a perfectionist but it is really very good like he wants things to be on point.āĀ
āWorking with him made me realize that we should always be conscious about what we produce, how we do stuff when weāre working in the studio. I got the opportunity to work with him we have a song together. canāt wait for you to hear it was such an amazing experience.āĀ
Executive producers of the āAfrican Musicā album are Benon Mugumbya and Julius Kyazze, co-owners and CEOs of Ugandaās biggest record company, Swangz Avenue.
What Benon said
Benon: āAzawi is really what you would call the quintessential musician if such a thing exists in art. sheās super passionate about what she does, pays attention to detail, super hungry and really that gives you the morale and the drive to make sure you facilitate the dream.ā
He added: āwe as a record label and the management we make sure we facilitate the dream and really be part of the history of her journey I canāt wait to hear the reactions and the remarks about this album African music.āĀ
What Kyazze said
Kyazze: āworking with an artist like azawi is a dream for an executive producer sheās extremely talented sheās dedicated to our work, and you could tell we are able to record so many songs she managed to record so many songs in a very short time.āĀ
āWe got to a point where we had now to put together the album and we had 50 solid good songs and we had to cut it down to you know a board of work which we finally were able to do, but it wasnāt it wasnāt easy.āĀ
āAnd we are very very excited that the album sheās been able to present to our fans itās going to be a very enjoyable piece of art to consume for the fansāĀ
āAfrican Musicā album describes Azawi as a musician
Azawi says being in traditional African dance groups exposed her to the rich content of African sounds and rhythms; therefore the content on this album is a collection of her life experiences.
She said: āWhat I can say is the content on this album is a collection of my life experiences as a person at my journey from where I started to where I am todayāĀ
āBeing in the traditional African traditional dance groups exposed me to that rich content of African sounds and rhythms and I got all of that content and I put it into my work that is why youāre going to find a lot of African instruments in my contentāĀ
āSometimes people ask me like how do you create, I can only relate it with love if I donāt fall in love with whatever Iām creating then it wonāt be out. I have to first have that chemistry with the track. sometimes I just listen to the track understand how what itās trying to say to me is the melody going to my brain or the melody is going straight to my heart at least something hits my heart straight then thereās immediate chemistry.ā
She added:Ā
āfor me, I always have to feel it. like I have to feel it like before I even put words on it I have to just feel it. if I have the melody, if Iām connecting with the track, the words can fall in easily.Ā so my creation process has to be a time to make love with a song to make love with the trackāĀ
āIām grateful that so far Iāve made love to a lot of tracks so it is always like a nice time when Iām creating and when I find someone who understands my frequency when Iām creating then it is always magicāĀ
You should love me for what I am, Azawi says
āIām a person that really wants to be known for my music I want that to speak for me like all the time I donāt want anything else to obstruct my strength of an artist of being a singer, being a writer.āĀ
āI wanted to always stand out and to represent me because Iām not here to impress anybody like you know to dress like the way people would want me to dress I just want to be me do my thing because this is what I love to do this is what I enjoy doing enjoy doing.āĀ
Azawi added that: āI want people to appreciate me for that, to accept me for that, not for any other reason but for my music because that is what Iām selling that is what I love to do that is my happy place.āĀ
āI hope that people get to resonate with my music. I hope that people get to connect with what I create because we shouldnāt let anybody out there to tell our story as Africans. We should always tell our truth like donāt let anybody else tell something different we should be proud of who we are and I hope that the music on this album African music relates to your stories relates to what youāre trying to speak out as an African.āĀ
āI wanted to be part of this journey contribute to the amazing sounds that are coming from home from Africa I hope that my fans and everyone out there get to connect and resonate to what Iāve created on African music the album.ā
In preparation for its debut on 9th October 2021, the āAfrican Musicā album is now available for pre-order on streaming and digital services worldwide.
