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Trust Khosa

SULUMAN Chimbetu’s camp has assured fans that they will end their four-year album drought before the festive season.

The Orchestra Dendera Kings boss last released a therapeutic album titled “Entanglement” in December 2020.

In between, the 42-year-old has released singles including “Khakhi” and “Transformer”, which come in two versions.

His cousin and manager, Solo Chimbetu, assured fans that the album was ready for market.

“People have been calling us asking for a new album since we last gave them “Entanglement” in 2020.

“I can safely say that the album will be released before December since we are putting into place logistics.

“Production-wise, the album has been completed and we are now waiting for a panel of experts to select the best eight songs that will be included in this project,” he said.

Solo, who doubles as the Orchestra Dendera Kings’ press liaison officer, told The Herald Arts they will not hold a public launch.

“Unlike the previous years when we used to hold public launches, this time around we will simply release the songs to the public.

“We will also release some videos so that people can enjoy themselves as we march into the festive season.

“However, we are not ruling out an executive launch for our close circle before releasing the album to the public. It will be strictly by invitation,” said the manager.

The camp hailed fans for their loyalty despite taking too long to release an album.

“Our fans have been there for us despite our delay in giving them a new album, which is rare. As a camp, we owe our fans who have shown us a lot of patience.

“We strongly believe that we have done our best in this album to ensure that we give them the music of superior quality as a way of returning the favour.”

However, Solo could not be drawn to unpack the new album for professional reasons.

“I cannot pre-empt what to expect on this album but fans should expect nothing but quality stuff.

“We have also made a deliberate move not to reveal the title of the album as well.

“As I indicated before, our fans should simply expect good quality songs because we took our time working on this album.”

With most artistes in mainstream music struggling to woo fans during live shows, Suluman’s camp expressed gratitude to their followers.

“As musicians, we are not spared by the challenges many of our peers are facing due to economic difficulties.

“We are happy that we have loyal fans who have stood with us for years.

“This is the reason we have decided to give them a new album,” he said.

Suluman, who held a joint family show at Zebra Village in Mbare, Harare, last weekend, hailed fans for their support.

“It feels good when fans are showing up in numbers to support us as was the case today.

“Of course, people started trickling in late but we are glad we managed to pull a big crowd for a Sunday show.

“I am ready to work with every artiste you might think of because music should be the winner,” he said.

Suluman also assured fans that a new album was coming this year.

“On that one (new album), it is coming and you should get finer details from management.

“The album is on its way before Christmas and you can ask management about that because everything is in place,” said Suluman before he dashed to the stage to perform.

Besides this forthcoming album, Suluman boasts of a rich catalogue of albums, which includes “Ndomusiya Nani” released in 2007, “Reverse Deal’ (2008), “Non-Stop” (2010), “Syllabus” (2012), “Gunship” (2014), “Jamboree” (2016), plus “Ndomusiya Nani” (DVD) and “Entanglement” released in 2020.

After taking over the reins at Orchestra Dendera Kings, following the death of his father, Simon, in 2005, Sulu has managed to keep the family legacy intact.

Backed by an experienced team, Suluman has reinvented the Dendera beat and still managed to create hits like “Sean Timba”, “Batai Munhu”, and “Dzamutsana” among others.

He has been collaborating with artistes in other genres like Zimdancehall, mbira, and even gospel.