The festive season is the time for families and friends to get together, share special moments and have a lot of fun! This year is particularly unique because many have lived separately and contact with family and friends is more important than ever before.
But what is a festive celebration in Africa without music and dance? On Friday, December 4, Boomerang releases the last four songs from the second edition of the Boomerang Tunes playlist, sung in English, Pidgin English and Swahili.
The kick of the fun festival is Furaha !!!, a Swahili composition by Hugh Davidson and Nekoye Ommeh. Hugh and Nekoyeare are both artists on their own: for the past fifteen years Hugh has been writing and recording music professionally, and he has also performed and performed for bands during this time. “I had a blast! It’s really fun to be more playful with music.
There was also the added benefit of working on songs in isiZulu and isiXhosa, so I also had to work on my language skills a bit more, ‘Hugh said. Nekoye Ommeh is a Kenyan artist and academic who has exhibited her work in different angles. of the world and released her debut album titled ‘Baby Speaks’ in 2010.
“These new Boomerang tunes are really sweet and authentic, and it was a whimsical experience to create them with Boomerang in location-specific languages, enabling more and more children in Africa to play and learn in their mother tongue, “Nekoye added.
On 11 and 18 December, Boomerang Best Friend (Nigerian Pidgin English) and Going to School (English), composed by the Afrikaans music sensation Zinnia Basame, will start. Zinnia said: “Working on the Boomerang Tunes project was going back to kindergarten and learning how to be a kid. It took me on a journey to the softest part of my heart, and it has felt really nice. It was great to work on it. “
The ‘Overload’ hitmaker, who is of Cameroonian and Nigerian descent, is no stranger to the art world and comes from a musical family. Her mega-hit, produced by Nigerian artist and vocal coach Muno, has garnered five awards across the continent.
“Language is definitely a compass when you want to navigate different people and cultures with respect, so yes, I really believe that these are important steps to represent the diversity of Africa,” says Muno.
To conclude the festive marathon and in the spirit of togetherness, My Big Family, compiled by the South African, Thendo Emmanuel Ramulondi, starts on 27 December.
“Working on the songs was challenging, but at the same time exciting,” Thendo explained. “The challenging part was putting myself in a child’s shoes and creating something fun and happy in line with Boomerang’s vision. But knowing that the music I create could have the potential to make some children happy, was fulfilling. “
The music bug hit Thendo, an electrical engineer by profession, at the age of 10 when he was first introduced to keyboard. The versatile Thendo now composes radio jingles and score music for reading story books and also becomes a well-known name in the South African gospel scene.
Following the successful launch of the first four songs in isiZulu, isiXhosa and English in September, the new fun, playful and easy-to-remember sing-along tunes, performed by local five to seven-year-olds who sing the songs in their authentic song . languages, will be added to the playlist on Boomerang’s YouTube channel and website from Friday, December 4th.