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UK CORNER: Muyiwa declares his love
But with the release of his third full-length album Declaring His Love in March (He has notched up combined sales of over 80,000 units to date), and as host of two radio shows (Gospel Tonight on Premier Radio - the UK's leading Christian Radio station and Sounds of Africa for Lufthansa as part of the German airline's in-flight entertainment network), Muyiwa has become familiar with delivering satisfaction.
Nigerian Muyiwa who has a degree in commercial music and worked at Sony records, says,
"For those who know, there is a rich American Indian or First Nation People Christian Music Culture. I stumbled across it a couple of years ago whilst broadcasting Gospel Tonight live in Los Angeles to London. I had the opportunity to be a part of the worship and it's great to watch how another culture uses its own language to express their Christian faith. One of the things that stuck with me was a 15-minute song / chant about Yaweh and at intervals the singers and congregation would sing Hey Ya which actually are just vocals that affirm what's already being said. It was the type of call-and-response that I am familiar with from my culture."
Muyiwa wrote the song with producer Eddie Martin whose writing/production expertise has seen him work with the likes of Whitney Houston, Ne-Yo, Jennifer Lopez, and Chris Brown to name a few.
A behind the scenes DVD including concert footage of Muyiwa recording the album has also been released. Muyiwa says,
“The film was directed and produced by the British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) award wining Patrick Campbell. My old boss from my Sony music days came to the recording with her 16-year-old skateboard-loving son who was experiencing our type of music for the first time. When I saw him a week later, the first thing he said to me was 'Your show was nuts!!!!' That said it all for me!!”
The album fuses contemporary sounds with worship ballads and West African rhythms. Muyiwa signed a mainstream distribution deal with established independent Proper, so the album will be available across many of the UK's store giants and key online sites like iTunes. Pre-order sales for the album topped music retailer HMV’s gospel Chart outselling the likes of Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond and Hillsong United. It also peaked at number one on HMV's Jazz & Blues Chart. Muyiwa said,
"We were truly excited to be number one on HMV's various charts. I don't care if it's 10, 100 or even 2000 copies; number one is what it is!"
Muyiwa & Riversongz recently toured Nigeria, America, the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Further dates are to follow in May/June as part of an eight-city tour with charity Christian Aid, and Muyiwa will be returning to America in September and West Africa in November/December.
Muiywa says, “With the birth of Riversongz foundation, it was important for us to work with an organisation that not only worried about people’s souls but also their social needs and Christian Aid have been a champion in this area for such a long time. The choice was easy.”
For those keen to work in music Muyiwa offers this advice: “Be Steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work as the writer of 1 Corinthians 15 put it. Simply put, keep doing what you’re doing so long as you’re sure it not just for you or fame, be sure it’s for 'HIM' and you will come through.” (www.myspace.com/riversongz - www.riversongz.com)
The UK Corner covers the UK/British urban entertainment scene and is written by Fiona McKinson. She is a freelance journalist and creative writer based in London. Contact her at info@thetalentshow.co.uk.
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