MUSICIAN Jeys Marabini has said the death of his long-time South African friend and producer Nkosinathi “Carlo” Mpanza, came as a shock and a huge blow as they were working on some projects together.
Mpanza died on March 3 after a short illness.
He was 41.
He was part of the multi-award-winning soul group Mina Nawe, which comprised Carlo, the Candid “Manchild” Shaw and Zanele “Mazet” Maseko.
Mpanza produced Jeys Marabini’s latest 10-track album— Xola which was released in November last year at the Bulawayo Theatre.
Posting on his Facebook page, Marabini said: “On a sad note I have lost a good friend, an amazing musician, Nkosinathi ‘Carlo’ Mpanza, a music producer who produced my new album Xola.
He was a member of the famous Mina Nawe Afro-pop group from South Africa. What a great loss. MHSRIP (May his soul rest in peace)”.
In a follow-up interview with Standard Style, Marabini described Mpanza as a man with great ideas, who knew his sound.
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“Working with him was really a great experience. He was someone who was humble, a man with great ideas, someone who knew the sound, he knew how to produce, how to record.
“Even if you listen to the album (Xola) itself, the sound is totally different, it’s really organic, it’s good. He had that talent.
“His death is a big setback, he had said my music was unique and there was no sound like this in Africa. This is a huge blow as he was someone I thought I would work with for a long time but then I was with him for a short time,” he said.
Marabini said Mpanza was working on creating a market for his music in South Africa.
“We were also working towards my music getting airplay on South African radio stations and television channels. We were looking at big things together like touring where he had contacts. He was in the music circles in South Africa and had toured different countries with his group Mina Nawe. He also produced for many musicians like Mafikizolo, Speedy and to name a few,” he said.
Marabini revealed that Mpanza missed the Xola album launch in Bulawayo citing health complications.
