Review of Favoured Sisters

Favoured Sisters’s praise songs in Kulambila 1
Reviewed by Emmanuel Luciano

The name Favoured Sisters would anger those who subscribe to the notion that God is all loving. The all loving God does not discriminate against anybody as He treats everyone equally. The case of having the selected few, therefore, does not exist in the concept of the ‘all loving God’.
But the Gospel Duo of Mwai Kalokesya and Martha Pingasa would tell you that their settling for the name of Favoured Sisters does not imply that the message in their music is also meant for the selected few. In their debut 10-ten track album Kulambila 1, the duo propagates a message of love, unquestioned faith and the need for people to be morally upright. These are also themes that the Bible accentuates.
Listening to Munandidziwa one gets the impression that the artists derived their name from this praise song, which gives reasons why God’s name ought to be exalted: …mutamandike mbuye ndinu nokha/.. mwandikondera mosayenera… .
From the general South African gospel beat in Moyo Wanga, and Munadziwa, the artists switch to reggae in I got the Reason and Chitileni Chifundo before shifting again to Rhumba of DRC in Yesu ndi Wanga.
The wavering of the artists from reggae to Rhumba is an indication that they are still experimenting on the sounds that should accompany their songs. They are yet to find their identity.
Thanthwe, the popular song that is lifted from the hymn book, is rendered in swinging rhythms of Jazz that beautifully pronounces the flute and percussions. But it is the vocals that betray the beauty of the instrumentation. The vocals do not match the pace of the seeming smooth Jazz beat. The artists should have done better on the vocals considering that the song is popular and has been done by various artists before.
Gospel might appear an easier genre to tackle because its themes are not as complex as those of secular. But the apparent simplicity of gospel subject-matter also makes it a difficult genre for artists who want to be different from the rest.
It is not easy to come up with lyrics that go beyond mere praise worshipping and chorusing. Most artist in gospel tend to give their listeners songs that were either lifted from the hymn book or were derived from the Bible, which explains why artists appear to repeat each other. The Favoured Sisters as new gospel entrants have a huge task of composing songs that would stand the test of time. Otherwise being ‘new kids on the block’ they have done fairly well to produce an album that has compelling sounds. They have potential to do well, hopefully their potentiality would be realised.
The album that was recorded at PC Studios is available for sale in all music outlets throughout the country.