WHEN news broke out that the 25-year-old partnership between Levi and Moses Sakala of the Sakala Brothers band had come to an end, people were left with a lot of thinking as to what exactly happened and subsequently what will happen afterwards.
Well, the truth is, the two are unlikely to partner again as the Sakala Brothers but both still remain active in the music industry with Moses continuing with the brand name of Sakala Brothers while Levey has also continued singing but on the other side of the industry.
Levey Sakala went back where his music career started from, in church, at Matero Apostolic Faith Mission church and teamed up with old friends and colleagues who helped him put up apostolic hymns together to come up with an album.
The 16 track collection which brings back the good old memories of traditional Christian songs is according to this author a must have on the shelf as an ardent Christian music collector.
The album which mostly appeals to mature audiences was recorded live in the studio and engineered by the versatile and talented Andrew Diamond at Sub80 studios and Nicholas Santa at the Sakala Brothers Arts centre in Lusaka.
The fact that some tracks were recorded at the Sakala Brothers Arts centre is testimony that there is no love lost between the two but just interests being different.
Boasting live instruments such as bass guitar by Sebastian Mutale, percussion by Andrew Diamond, keyboard by Levi Sakala, Nicholas Santa and James Besa and guitars by Sebastian Mutale, Baron Besa and Andrew Diamond, the album is well serviced in terms of instruments.
The 16 track album features both praise and worship traditional and contemporary songs done in different languages that include Chewa, Nyanja, Bemba, Shona and English.
The Hymns Pa Chipostoli album redefines Levi Sakala as he teams up with his Matero Apostolic Faith Mission choir.
The soothing hoarse voice of the former Makewane music singer is supported by the solo voices of Esther Sakala and Doreen Kangwa on songs such as Hatina Musha, Lidze Msanga and Munsunge.
Zimbabwean Ambassador to Zambia Lovemore Mazemo also featured on track number two Ishe Ndinzwe Nokufala a Shona worship song, delivering it in a professional manner making this writer wonder if the ambassador is in the right office.
Levey features prominently on songs such as Sing’anga Mkulu, a hymn which he performed with Nicholas Santa, When My Life Hanged In Between, Muzozo (Anointing) performed with Wazanso and Yoram, Ukapenya Kwa Yesu (a hymn) and Tilindile.
To make it an all inclusive album for all mature audiences, the singer teamed up with two great saxophonists Nathan Nyirenda and Chel LLingworth, the two added the Jazz flavour to the collection by redoing Ishe Ndizwe, Singa’anga Mkulu, Ukapenya Kwa Yesu and Hatina Musha into sax versions.
Without being left in the celebrations of Zambia’s Golden Jubilee, Levi teamed up with children calling themselves Lifesong on a track that celebrates Zambia’s peace and unity called Jubilee Is Come.
The album according to Levi was recorded to celebrate his return to Christ and to his childhood church where he found people that he used to sing with in 1984 still singing in the same church.
And true to that, the hymns which were richly enhanced and recorded using modern instruments uplift the songs and the album offers that rich sound of hope. In most tracks, the choir is heard backing the singers of different hymns and original compositions in an uplifting manner.
All 16 tracks on the album have that unique feel and thus give this album a masterpiece rating. It is a must have for those that want to get more close to God while enjoying good music recorded and mixed professionally and delivered with quality while putting good listenership in mind.
With the kind of work put into the album for over a year, Levi and choir decided to use this collection to help the underprivileged children while also rising funds for his Apostolic Songs Kasupe (ASK) recording studio in Lusaka.
“We give those people that need help the albums so that they sell and get the money to help themselves,” he said during an interview.
“We will use some funds to get equipment for the ASK studio in Lusaka which I am currently building,” he added.
Hymns pa Chipostoli is surely a good album that encompasses most traditional gospel music styles and as such makes it a good collection for church grown fellows but one must not be misled by the apostolic name tagged to it as some hymns are generally accepted in most churches.
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