Tracing Lufeyo Dzombe, one of the long time musicians

Lufeyo Dzombe is not a new name on the local music circles. It dates back to the 90s and then reached the heights in 2002 when he released a hit album, ‘Malawi for sale’ which came second from Mlaka Maliro’s Maloto in sales with over 75 000 copies.

After releasing his fourth album titled ‘Kwacha’ in 2006, the musician in Dzombe vanished, attracting questions if he has decided to hang up the microphones for something else.

But how did he start his career?

Born in the 70s, Dzombe said his musical career started when he was nine years old in a family choir with his father, mother and a sister as members.

“I later came to Lilongwe Church of Central African Presbytery (CCAP) where I was a New Jerusalem Choir. After a stint with them, I went back to Kasiya, my home village, where a new choir, New Chikumbutso was set up with me as the leader,” he said.

It was in 1997, he said, when the choir participated at the Call Workshop at Kamuzu Institute of Sport in Lilongwe where out of the 170 choirs, New Chikumbutso and another one from the Northern region emerged the winners.

“As a leader, I was selected to study music for six months in Mazzini, Swaziland. This was the beginning of my serious music career.

“After two years when I came back, I met Billy Kaunda whom I started working with, with his Armageddon Band.  I stayed with him for about seven years. This was the period when I was taught music,” he said.

With Kaunda, he said they were relying on each other and he taught him some tricks in music since he was coming from nowhere in the music circles.

“We were doing almost everything together and we were staying in one house before he got married. I composed a lot of songs in his Dandaulo Limveke album something which I regarded as a great achievement to me. Before I left for Zambia, he advised me on how I could go on with my new band, The Flying Locust and he even went further to promote it on radio,” he said.

Dzombe said he released his first album titled ‘Tikhale Nawo’ in 2000.

He released his second album ‘Malawi for sale’ in 2002 which tackled the political turmoil the country was going through under the leadership of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

“This was the time when many government companies were privatized and rumors had it that even some parts of Lake Malawi were being marketed to Mozambique. This was my best selling album and no wonder it was the second best selling in the country,” he said.

 He later released ‘Nyimbo ya Solomon’ in 2006 which was taken from the Biblical love book of King Solomon and finally cut Kwacha in 2006, perhaps the final before going into the wilderness.

‘My silence did not mean that I have resigned from music. But I was approached in 2007 by the Women’s Lobby Group from Zambia to assist them on their campaign in promoting their rights in the country, a job a grabbed immediately,” he said while laughing.

He added, “I stayed there for three years as a composer. My work revolves around composing songs to civic educate people on how to respect the rights of women. I also wrote a play called ‘Ufulu Wanga’. We conducted a lot of free mobile shows in various cities like Chipata, Ndola and Livingston, so as you can see, I was active in music only that I was doing it where the locals could not observe my work.”

Dzombe said when he came back in 2010, he immediately went back to the studios to restore his glory and a new yet to be named album in the offing.

“The album, which has ten trucks, is already complete. I am just waiting for the DVD to be produced then it will hit the market. I want to give out the best to the hungry Malawians from my experience I acquired from these countries. Lufeyo Dzombe is back to hit the market and the airwaves,” said the musician who respects Kaunda, Lucius Banda, Mlaka Maliro, Coss Chiwalo, Paul Subili and Rod Valamanja for surviving the times in music.