BY FREEMAN MAKOPA
AFRO-JAZZ songstress Selmor Mtukudzi has disclosed that working with celebrated South African producer and her late father’s long-time friend Steve Dyer on her new album, was a turning point to her career.
The yet-to-be titled album, a dedication to the late national hero and music superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, will be released on January 31 next year.
“It was quite an experience working with such a legend (Dyer) who has done great works for Africa. We learnt a lot. It’s high time we treat music as a business in Zimbabwe. One of the lessons learnt from him was professionalism,” she said.
“Artistes must be time conscious, passionate about their work and must respect their fans. That’s what Steve is. If he says I will pick you at 9am, five minutes before, he will be waiting.”
Selmor also described the experience as “a turning point” for the heiress to the Tuku music throne.“As much as I’ve released other works before, this is my first. It will be my first album in the driver’s seat of my father’s music legacy. In such circumstances, imagine recording with the man who changed my father’s fortunes,” she said.
She said although Tuku had produced a string of albums before the magic tag-team with Dyer, it was the latter’s magical touch on Tuku Music that redefined Tuku as a musician.
“This means a lot to me, that feeling of being in the right hands and that feeling of being in the studio that changed Tuku’s life was enough motivation,” she said.She said she learnt that good lyrics, vocals, instrument arrangement and production defined enduring music.
Dyer was behind the resuscitation of Tuku’s music career after he produced the album Tuku Music in 1999 in a move facilitated by his former manager Debbie Metcalfe.
