Young vocalist shines at Splash festival

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Staff Writer | Wednesday May 2, 2012 00:00

 

It’s defining moment came when a tall young vocalist stepped onto the stage to lead Matshikos and send fans into a frenzy.

Bafana Kunene, the younger brother to the late former lead vocalist Penwell Kunene who was roped in recently as replacement for Albert Malahlela, did not come across as the ideal man to fill the big void at the heart of the platinum selling pop reggae band.

Once on stage, the shy lad from Soweto did not look like he would pull it off, thus giving rise to the anxiety that had “overcome” his boss Dan Tshanda as well as the fans who now looked increasingly doubtful.

But little did they know that music runs through the Kunene’s veins and a few minutes on stage the group’s followers were reminded of Penwell as the man at the front microphone belted out Matshikos’ pioneer track, I’m Trapped following it up with We Miss You – another old track dedicated to the late Joseph Tshimange who co-founded the group with Penwell in 1991.

Bafana’s mentor Ivory Sikepe could not contain her excitement after the performance as the whole band held the young vocalist aloft. Since the departure of Penwell 10 years ago Matshikos has been unable to play live old tracks done by the talented vocalist but his younger sibling has now “brought back the Matshiko”.

His black T-shirt bearing bold pink letters “Don’t touch girls” could not stop the female fans from competing for his attention after a powerful performance.  Bafana is set to sing in Matshikos’ new album after the last one called Cruel World failed to excite the group’s big fan base.

For the first time, the disco quartet By4 lead by Sikepe shared the stage with Tshanda, Dalom Kids, Matshikos and Peacock.

Though, the instrumentalists seemed to struggle to produce the right tunes for the band, the four vocalists-cum-dancers grabbed the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of a bigger crowd.