Maskal’s second lap
Almost a year after docking with his debut Nthawi on melody bay to a golden reception, urban music sensation Maskal re-emerges from the horizon deep in the sea of music, paddling steadily to the shore, confident that his second arrival falls no shorter than the first. Herbert Chandilanga digs.
He is about to make the second coming—the dreaded occasion many one-time wonders have fallen short of their own debut benchmarks.
But urban music gem Maskal believes he is no jester and still has the magic going and that his hot debut album was not a half hour ticket on the big stage.
On Monday, he unveils a taste of his second album, Umunthu, with two singles on air—the pasada-paced Zili Ndiiwe and manganje flavoured Usatope, the rest of the album timed for August.
He says the theme, Umunthu—an expression of a human element that encompasses personhood, personality, or good human characters—seeks to build on the strengths and philosophies of the debut Nthawi (Time or Seasons), seeking to underline the development that comes with age.
“People have known me for exploring love, yes. Nthawi received a supreme welcome on the music scene for its tales of affection and it was consequently hard to beat its grade in the second album.
“But times are fast and continuously changing. Now I must explore more than just the affection. Umunthu then provides that scope within which I look at broader matters than love—It’s about a serious part of humankind that determines who we are because you either have umunthu or you don’t. There is nothing like being in between,” he ascertains.
Maskal reckons that the world today needs a lot of umunthu more than it needs many of the things nations have exalted.
“The idea to widen horizons in the second album wells from my experience with people. I have been through a lot—in general or in my music life in particular. I have, therefore, sung from my heart, from the pleasures and clashes along life’s hills and valleys.
“I have thus defined my world in relation to those of others, trying to locate where umunthu makes a difference in human relations. For instance, I have stories to tell on how the world reacts to fame, or to be exact, towards a musician as one society has privileged me to be,” he says.
He says Umunthu flexes across a list of genres, putting him to a test of a variety of styles and tastes.
“For example, there’s reggae, pasada and beyond, fused with African rhythms. I just believe that as an African—or a Malawian in particular—I have philosophies and styles that blend well with prevailing ones from outside the continent.
“It is a realisation that catapults one back to the roots, yet searching for the best way not to lose the plot in a world where one also has to constantly keep abreast of times.
“It’s not easy, but I would confidently say I am ready to declare the fans the best placed judges of my return,” he says.
Umunthu lists a few changes. While Nthawi featured a catalogue of artists, Umunthu cuts on such partnership, going more towards a solo attempt but one song where poet Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwa recites over Maskal’s lines.
“It was harder going down that road, but it made it a worthwhile test,” he says.
Maskal also welcomes three new names to the production line. These are session artists Chisomo Ngondo formerly of Mibawa Band, Mfrica OBR of Malimba Band, Alex Louis formerly of Groove Magic and Prince Monfort Manyozo of Soul Raiders.
However, some things remain the same. Youthful Percy Manyozo maintains his seat on the production console. Manyozo holds Umunthu will surpass people’s expectations and win its way to the top shelves at music stores.
“It was a challenge working not to lose the identity and at the same time realising music tastes are not that static. But that was a just one of the challenges that spur a team to work harder for better,” says Manyozo.
Born Masiye Kasalu on November 1985, seventh of nine—six boys and three girls, Maskal comes from Sharpevalle in Ntcheu.
He won a small award in a singing competition at SOS Primary School in Lilongwe.
In secondary school, he was part of an acapella group which, despite impressing the judges’ panel, missed out on the awards list in 2004 because it failed to satisfy competition criteria to include a lady.
“That told me I had the talent but, as usual, the Malawian set-up I grew up in looked down at music as a career,” he says.
A serious music career would only emerge in 2006 after studying for an Information Systems Diploma at Polytechnic in Blantyre.
Inspiration comes from the everyday happenings, he says.
“It gives songs a real feel of life—it could be from things that please or annoy me, or people around me,” he adds.
