AFRO-JAZZ songstress Selmor Mtukudzi’s new album set to be launched on January 31 will mark the rebirth of the musician as she seeks to move away from her late father music superstar Oliver Mtukudzi’s shadow and reinforce her own brand as a musician, NewsDay Life & Style has established.
BY FREEMAN MAKOPA
The musician’s publicist Reginald Chapfunga last week said they were in the process of rolling out the new strategy.
“Our vision is to establish Selmor as her own musician. Yes, she is the daughter of Oliver Mtukudzi, but she can’t live in the shadows of Dr Mtukudzi or on sympathy forever. Besides, she has been her own for a decade and a half,” he said.
“We are also focusing on the international market and one of the strategies is to attend music trade shows and festivals as exhibitors or performers. This will help us market the brand. We are also approaching international music agents.”
Following the death of Tuku last year, Selmor has drawn the sympathy of the late superstar’s fans in a development that saw many of her shows oversubscribed.
Chapfunga said they were working on striking a balance between maintaining Tuku’s legacy and getting Selmor out of her father’s shadow.
“Our thrust now is to preserve Tuku’s music legacy while establishing Selmor as a brand. However, you will see from the forthcoming album that we have a collaboration with South Africa’s Vusi Mahlasela and Steve Dyer also features on the album,” Chapfunga said.
“The year 2020 marks Selmor’s rebirth. Besides an 11-track album titled Dehwe Renzou, we are also going to embark on a nationwide tour. The tour is meant to promote the album and will also serve to take Selmor to the people and reignite the romance with Tuku’s fans.”
Chapfunga said they will mark the first anniversary of Tuku’s death on January 23 with the release of a video of one of the tribute songs from the album.
Selmor will, however, continue to play her father’s music during live shows while producing her own music.
Chapfunga noted that the songbird’s desire to preserve her father’s legacy kept her going during a difficult year as it was “not easy to pick up the pieces after such a loss”.
He also hailed their partnership with Impala Car Hire, saying that has helped the musicians to work with Steve Dyer and also improved many facets of the band and Alick Macheso for touring the country with Selmor.