Sounds pentagon story

By Jimmy Lipunga

The date for the much-awaited Tribute Concert in honour of the undisputable music icon, Mtebeti Wambali Greenwood Dimba Mkandawire is now set. Wambali, as he was fondly known, died on January 31 2021 of Covid-19.

The preponderant Covid-19 cases were a stark reminder of the reality of death. We came to terms with unmistakable emphasis, of our own vulnerability and mortality.

On February 9 2021, a week after his passing, I penned an article reminiscing Wambali’s spectacular and multifaceted journey in life. This was generally well received, especially by his family and adoring fans. Since the first anniversary of his passing, pundits have ushered proportionate lamentations and deeply touching tributes. One of these described him as “literally irreplaceable” and ranked him among the genius in the annals of Malawian music.

It is not possible to talk about Wambali without making reference to Sounds Pentagon, a distinguished local rock band in which he performed as lead vocalist and showman. Millennials are probably wondering about who exactly Sounds Pentagon were.

Sounds Pentagon was a flamboyant rock band that emerged in the mid-70s. As a tribute to Wambali, I share an accurate history of Sounds Pentagon based on extensive research and information provided by the surviving members of the band, especially Geoffrey Chiumia, to whom I am greatly indebted.

The Ngoni music influences on Sounds Pentagon

Sounds Pentagon was the brainchild of Chiumia whose original home is Embangweni in Mzimba District. Now in his late 60s, he presently resides in Toronto, Canada. Embagweni falls within the footprint of Loudon Mission whose impact on Ngoni ethnic musicology is well documented.

The Ngoni were known for their annual festivals of the first fruits, called the Incwala. These Ncwala festivals were spiced up with performance of strong rhythmic Ngoni music and traditional dancing. This cultural ethos became particularly handy for the Scottish missionaries who opted to leverage on the festivals to organise sacramental conventions which drew thousands of people. Sacramental conventions were a focal point of celebrating baptisms and the Lord’s Supper accompanied by rhythmic Ngoni music. It is in this regard that a prominent missionary, Donald Fraser encouraged the Ngoni converts to compose indigenous church music. This explains why Sumu za Ukhristu, unlike its counterpart Nyimbo za Mulungu, contains significantly more indigenous compositions.

For instance, in the Tumbuka hymn book, at least 127 out of 401 hymns are attributed to Malawian composers. Of the 24 named composers, 21 were from among the Ngoni or strong Ngoni influence. Some of the most notable Ngoni composers were Peter Thole, Charles Chinula, Mawelera Tembo, Jonathan Chirwa, Hezekiah Tweya and Elijah Chavula.

Geoffrey Chiumia

Chiumia came from a strong Ngoni musical heritage and this endeared him to strong rock rhythms by rock groups such as Jimi Hendrix, Bad Company, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. His father Othaniel Chiumia, then a civil servant living in Zomba, owned and played the accordion as a soloist. Geoffrey’s brother Montie Chiumia, now a retired quantity surveyor, played a flute. Geoffrey remembers his dad hosting several visiting musicians. One of the prominent artists who frequented the Chiumia’s home was the famed late Ndiche Mwalare.

Geoffrey Chiumia attended Robert Blake Secondary School (Kongwe) from 1969 and 1973. During this period, Kongwe was not only known for outstanding academic performance, but also for being a flashpoint of student political dissent. This resulted in the school being frequently closed and students being either suspended or dismissed. Geoffrey was a victim of such closures and suspensions. This was to have a profound impact on the mode and temperament of his music later in life. The Sounds Pentagon used rock music as a form of expression to convey anger, distress, discontent and disillusion with the establishment and overall injustices.

After completing his secondary school, Geoffrey enrolled for motor vehicle apprenticeship training at The Polytechnic. During holidays, he stayed with his brother Montie Chiumia and his cousin Roy Mlotha in Kanjedza Township. Mlotha, also from Embangweni, was a talented guitarist who deeply influenced Geoffrey’s interest in playing guitar. Two houses away from the Chiumias lived Rodger Nkhwazi, another gifted musician who played with Roy in a jazz outfit known as the Magnificent 5 (The M5). Guess who was staying with Roger Nkhwazi-Greenwood Dimba Mkandawire who, as mentioned earlier adopted in later years the brand name Wambali Mkandawire. Wambali too had been a victim of Kongwe expulsions, a development that was to have a lasting effect on his music architecture. His music increasingly became most aggressive and combative especially Tidzamtamanda, Kavuluvulu and Kumtengo albums.

So strong was Mlotha’s influence on Geoffrey Chiumia such that the latter purchased his own guitar from a French expatriate for K25. After intensive lessons and practice, Geoffrey became an astute lead guitarist ready for a professional career.

The Crystals era

After mastering the guitar, Geoffrey in 1973 joined a band known as The Crystals whose leader was Russell Msonda. Russel played bass while Geoffrey played lead guitar. The third band member was a drummer only known as Nyirenda. Crystals was a resident band at Kudya Entertainment Centre. In those days, bands survived on providing live music entertainment, through a contract at hotels and inns and mostly on weekends. Kudya Entertainment Centre and Hotel Continental (later known as Hotel Chisakalime) were popular entertainment hotspots in Blantyre. Unfortunately, after a while Russel left the band to join Teddy Chisi and The Spades and this incapacitated The Crystals and accordingly frustrated the contract with Kudya Entertainment Centre.

The birth of Pentagon

After the demise of The Crystals, Geoffrey mobilised a new set of musicians to form a group that would replace the Crystals and continue providing live music at Kudya Entertainment Centre. The line-up of the musicians were; Geoffrey Chiumia on lead guitar, Jimmy Mulenga on second guitar, Ben Chingoni on drums and Patrick Simakweli on bass. Not unlike most bands in Malawi then, the new group did not have its own equipment. They sometimes used equipment belonging to a prominent musician; Brodie Mauluka. At this point Geoffrey was not keen to name the new group The Crystals, after discovering that another band in Europe bore the same name. For a while the band performed in the shadows of The Crystal, but actually without an official name.

In about 1974, Geoffrey was looking for a heavy metal rock sound and decided to reconfigure the line-up of the band and achieve his boyhood dream. He recruited Stanley Phiri on the bass replacing Patrick Simakweli. He signed on Reuben Roxy Phiri on drums replacing Jimmy Mulenga. Finally, Julius Tonga joined the group and replaced Ben Chingoni on second guitar. The impact of the new line-up was deadly. As Thin Lizzy would say: “ The Boys were Back in Town.” This was the time the majority of bands were experimenting with Congo, Benga and Tanzanian rumba. Attracted by the success, Greenwood Dimba Mkandawire (Wambali) approached Geoffrey to express interest to join the band. Up to this point, he had little music experience and never played any instrument. Geoffrey consulted his band mates who initially rejected the idea. The main argument was that Wambali lacked experience in music.

Undaunted, Wambali, continued to push Geoffrey for an opportunity to be part of the rockers. The band later agreed to grant him an opportunity for an audition. When the audition was done, everyone was stunned and liked what they saw and heard! Wambali was immediately admitted as a fifth member of the rock group. Because Wambali was the fifth member, the band was christened The Pentagon. Their music genre was defined as Africa Malawi Rock (Afroma Rock in short).

When Wambali joined the group, the band was simply indomitable with a willingness to take on the giants. The sound was deep and complex with aggressive rhythms and fuzz guitar works. The band was a regular at Kudya Entertainment Centre. It also had a fan base at Chancellor College and a number of secondary schools.

Pentagon becomes Sounds Pentagon

In early 1975, a Zambian rock (Zamrock) band the WITCH came to Malawi and performed at Kudya Entertainment Centre. The performance was dazzling and deeply impressed the lads in Sounds Pentagon. They saw a band fusing traditional rhythms into stadium rock leaving everybody awestruck. This spurred the Pentagons to fuse the aggressive Ngoma and other traditional rhythms into their own music character.

Subsequently after the visit by WITCH, Pentagon were performing at Grand Beach Hotel, (now known as Sunbird Livingstonia Beach) in Salima. The performance was mesmerising sending everyone into a deep frenzy. In attendance were two Malawian middleclass gentlemen; a Mr Kassam (an indigenous Malawian from Ntcheu) and a Mr Matekanya. These two gentlemen were affluent and operated a business known as Sounds Incorporated Limited which among others traded in stationery. So impressed were the two that they approached the band and offered to purchase for them a professional rock kit for more optimal sound output. Upon their return to Blantyre, the band was given a chance to select their preferred kit from an upmarket music equipment catalogue. The Pentagon band settled for a professional Marshall set. Marshall equipment was the ultimate standard for professional rock bands. Marshall equipment is to a rock musician what a Mercedes Benz is to a motorist! True to their word, the two gentlemen ordered the equipment from the United Kingdom and got it air freighted. The equipment arrived by air within a month of ordering at a landed cost of £6 710 which then was a lot of money. The band signed a management contract with Sounds Incorporated Limited and the name was accordingly changed from Pentagon to Sounds Pentagon reflecting the sponsorship by Sounds Incorporated Limited.

The visiting Hurricanes Band from South Africa

Many will remember the popular South African Band the Hurricanes, who visited Malawi in the summer of 1975. Sounds Pentagon were slated as curtain raisers for this well known band. When Sounds Pentagon performed using their signature Marshall outfit, the Hurricanes were literally stunned by the quality of their performance. The Hurricanes had been outshone. At their next act, at Kalulu Stadium, The Hurricanes insisted on playing before Sounds Pentagon. Now the visiting band had become the curtain raisers for the mighty Sounds Pentagon! Another popular South Africa group, The Wavelets met the same fate in similar circumstances as those feted on Hurricanes in the same year.

Geoffrey recalls that the band would practice till 3.00am. Wambali was driving quality control. A well known perfectionist, Wambali would not allow the band to retire unless the desired sound quality had been attained. I once hosted him during while his musicians rehearsed at Comesa Hall in Blantyre for his Liberty album launch. He would stretch the musicians until practically the music could not be improved any more.

Sounds Pentagon’s most memorable songs were Moni Nonse Anzathu, Tubabe Mwana, Ndasauka, Usandisiye, Mako ndi Mako, Mwana Wathu Wataika, among other songs. All Sounds Pentagon’s songs were recorded at Malawi Broadcasting Corporation in their famous live Teen Beat sessions. Sadly, none can be retrieved and may very well have been lost.

The Sunset years

In 1978, Wambali Mkandawire left Sounds Pentagon to pursue a solo career and to respond to a call in Christian ministry. After his departure, Geoffrey Chiumia performed as a lead vocalist on most of the songs.

Presently, of the original Sounds Pentagon line up, only Geoffrey Chiumia and Mbura are alive. The rest have passed on and may their departed souls rest in peace. Patrick Simakweli, a bass guitarist in the pre-Pentagon era is also alive.