China-based Afro Jazz, Pop and mbira player, Brity Yonly says she is targeting to spread mbira music in the Asian country as there has been a huge reception towards the genre.
Brity told 263Chat from her base that she feels more appreciated and supported abroad than she is at home because the Chinese have a huge liking for the mbira instrument and she has even begun teaching mbira lessons abroad.
“Fortunately enough ,my music is being greatly appreciated internationally more than back home, because in 2018 I toured Europe to perform at the Bergen Afro Arts Festival(BAAF)in Norway, where I also conducted Mbira workshops in Schools and Culture Centres.
“In China, I am getting a good response because they are loving my Mbira music as well,” she said.
The 26-year-old artist says she draws inspiration from the late mbira queen, Chiwoniso Maraire and Oliver Mtukudzi.
‘This type of music was greatly inspired by the late Chiwoniso Maraire and Dr Oliver Mtukudzi. In 2014, I joined an Afro Jazz band called The Blacks, as a lead singer before going solo in 2015, when I released my first 6 track album, Mwana wa Mambo featuring Damson ‘WeDande’ Madzikaminga. Since then, I have not stopped releasing music,” she noted.
Brity has had a number of collaborations with both local and international artists and plans to further collaborate with local artists.
“In 2018 when I was in Europe, I collaborated with a Germany violinist, Steffi Wissing on my song titled Tinzwe Kuchema and here in China, I managed to work with a Kenyan Artist and Video Director, Danco Quinns on my latest video Fame without Money. Locally I have collaborated with Datler, WeDande, Cello Culture, Gracious Sithole and Proskan,” she said.
She says her love for the arts makes it easy for her to juggle between her music and working hours.
“Art is my work, so I am always managing properly because when I am not doing music I will be doing theatre stage plays because I am a musician and theatre practitioner but they are more similar because in theatre music is also involved, so I can balance it very well,” she told 263Chat.
Currently, she is a performing artist at Lingling International Circus in China.
