Tonight, musician Praise Umali will be launching his latest album Dreams for Sale at Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre.
The album, which is a collection of songs of varying themes, takes people on a journey of self-reflection, love and loss.
What is in the album?
Released last month, the album offers a trifecta of strong compositions, vocal flex and impressive collaborations.
The album is a talent showcase with 12 songs.
Sindimamva: In Sindimamva, Praise Umali describes this state as he proclaims his falling in love.
He sings: “I’ve been crazy since I met you, babe. You stole my heart and I let you, babe. M’botolo ndilowa ndekha babe akuti I am falling too fast… Ma friends ati sindimamva. Akuti ndikagwa ndimabalalika nsanga. Ma friends ati sindimatha kudekha kudekha koma I don’t want to when it comes to you uu sinditchera khutu uu coz I am in love with you uu. I am in love with you uu.”
In the chorus, one sees the intention behind his use of high range notes becomes evident. Higher range notes and major keys are associated with love, hope and peak moments in a song. They affirm the feeling of brightness that comes when life becomes more fulfilling.
From the start, the singer employs a well-controlled and slightly breathy vocal tone. As such, the tone is impressive and is maintained across both the lower and upper notes throughout the octaves.
The harmonies are well layered. They are sparse yet effective enough to fill the gaps that the melody alone could have left.
Flight Mode featuring Teddy Makadi: The song narrates how his heart has closed itself off from love. It goes, in part: “Utatopa mesa ukanangonena. Ukanandiuza baby zoti pali ena. Ine ukanandiuza….” Teddy swims through the second verse with his smooth vocals and layered backing harmonies.
Praise Umali also has an international feature. In the song Loud, he featured South Africa’s Amanda Black.
“I’ve seen the scars and they have been fading. I’ve been here and I’ve been waiting. You scared of loving, scared of hurting. But if I don’t love you then I lose you… You don’t have to be scared. Love, you can love me loud loud. Love me loud…” goes the lines in part.
Then, Amanda Black does justice to the song. She starts the verse almost whispering, expressing emotion through her vocals. Her vocals are clean, with subtle vocal runs that are sparsely applied.
Other songs on the album include Bima Lover, Amen, Blessings featuring Theresa Phondo and These Days.
Meanwhile, VisionFund Malawi has partnered with musician Umali by bankrolling his Dreams for Sale album launch tour with K5 million.
VisionFund Malawi head of marketing and communications Unkhankhu Ng’oma said the partnership aligns with the organisation’s mandate to empower young people and enhance youth participation in business.
Ng’oma said the Dreams for Sale tour is themed around ambition, resilience and the courage to pursue one’s dreams, which he said aligns with VisionFund’s understanding of entrepreneurship.
“By partnering with this tour, we are positioning VisionFund not just as a lender but as a core pillar of youth empowerment, championing the very resilience and ambition this tour celebrates,” he said.
On his part, Umali expressed gratitude to VisionFund for the support, saying the partnership would go beyond meeting expenses and help the tour reach a wider audience.
“It is going to assist us in a lot of aspects and not just even in the monetary thing, but I feel like the partnership with VisionFund is just bigger than what we get from the money,” he said.
Umali’s Dreams for Sale album has 12 songs, some of which feature artists such as Driemo, Theresa Phodo, Teddy Makadi and South Africa’s Amanda Black.
