Zimpapers Logo

Yeukai Karengezeka Arts Correspondent
Award-winning gospel musician Lawrence Gunda has taken the region by storm, with some of his songs on his latest album “Yahweh We Praise” gunning for the top spot on gospel charts in other countries.

Better known in music circles as Worshipper Larry Gunda, the musician who is a pastor, said the latest project in his catalogue was birthed out of personal spiritual experiences.

Mixed, mastered and packaged in South Africa, the album has songs that compel one to listen to the entire package..

The title song, “Yahweh We Praise” is already on Hope Live FM Radio Top 10 in Kenya, while the track “Zvikasashamisa Haasi Mwari” is on Star FM’s Gospel Greats top 20.

Gunda is not new on the international stage after he won the Outstanding Invocation Song with his track “Taura Mweya” at the Maranatha Gospel Music Awards in Kenya last year, when he beat 20 other artistes from various countries in Africa.

The awards were designed to acknowledge worship music and to honour exceptional individuals from around the globe.

But the 11-track album released recently can be rated as Gunda’s best so far in terms of quality and the rich content of the songs.

It’s a mixed bag packaged to attract the attention of both local and international fans, as some of the songs were sang in Shona, English and Ndebele.

For worship lovers, this offering can quickly turn the atmosphere into that worship mode many always search for, as the music touches both the heart and the soul.

Worship songs on the album include “Nyika yeMweya”, “Mandishanyira”, “My Hallelujah” and “Zvikasashamisa Haasi Mwari”.

Other songs on the album are “Pursue, Overtake, Recover All”, “The Way You Love Me”, “Jesu Ndeweminana”, “Mufaro” and “Ujesu Uhamba Nami”.

In an interview, Gunda told The Herald Arts that he considered his album very special to him because of his spiritual experiences and the time he took polishing it.

“This album is special to me because of the way it was birthed,” he said. “I had spiritual experiences for most of the songs, it’s like I never wrote these songs, but I heard spiritual voices singing the songs.

“I also took my time in polishing the songs since October 2018 till 2020 and the people I worked with are important too.”

The “Taura Mweya” hit-maker said he was in the process of shooting the video for “Yahweh We Praise” starting this week.

Gunda said his fans should look forward to a live DVD recording this year and many other projects which are in the pipeline.

“There are many things in store for our fans and my target is to do a live DVD recording before the end of this year, and preparations are underway,” he said.