Ali gets his arms

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Tonight	4:41	Play
2		African lady	4:14	Play
3		Thursday	3:38	Play
4		Ali gets his arms	3:45	Play
5		Wehim wo	4:33	Play
6		Bulu bo windi tenge	4:22	Play
7		What's happening tonight?	4:26	Play
8		Interlude	0:37	Play
9		Tonight (Spokes dance remix)	6:14	Play
10		Ding dong	4:06	Play
11		Another level	4:17	Play
12		Gone on my mind	4:39	Play
13		Can't let u go	4:25	Play
14		Someday	1:51	Play

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Description

BIOGRAPHY: WAX

23 year-old Wax (Nde Ndifonka) was only nine when he penned his first song: Faraway Child. A decade later, the music of the song earned him runner-up prize in the state sponsored Pay-your-tax Song competition in Cameroon. And a University award for best songwriter. Testimony that one of Africa's best songwriters was in the making.

He taught himself guitar and piano, and honed his producing skills in a small local studio in his varsity town, Buea. He later recorded Faraway Child as a single, scored a generous amount of radio airplay and positive criticism for it, and lost the master. Promising as his music was, he contented himself with occasional performing and producing for a few local bands that never got anywhere.

But not long after, the musician in him resurfaced, prompted by the distinct musical culture he found when he moved to South Africa to pursue studies. "South Africa is a rainbow nation and it is beautiful how so many different genres co-exist here. I grew up listening to the Motown greats, in a country where every single musician played exclusively traditional local music. I've also had lots of different influences from the different countries I have been to. I'm a sort of musical mulatto, and I think South Africa is the right place for something like that."

He started performing to pay his bills. "For more than a year, music was my lifeline. So for the first time, I had to take it really seriously." And so he did. Almost always leaving his audience spellbound with his uniquely beautiful songs, charming penetrative voice, and gentle charisma, he soon found himself doing lots of corporate gigs, and impressing audiences at stages like Kilimanjaro and Moyo. Long after you listen to Wax, you always find yourself singing at least one of his songs without making an effort to remember them. They are unique and melodious, and he is a master of hooks, even when playing an instrument.

He later released the single African Lady, a beautiful love song featuring the fabulous Zulu crooner, Shaluza Max, but was not too sure what he really wanted out of music, and perhaps this explains why he turned down two recording contracts to pursue a career in his legal field of study. But things changed quickly when he was invited to play at the Awesome Africa Festival. There he met, and was thrilled by the inspirational bassist Gito Baloi of Tananas fame, who like him, was a self-taught musician with humble beginnings. Touched by his warmness and earnest approach to life, Wax found a mentor in him. Gito quickly arranged to produce a CD with Wax, but less than a week before they were due to start recording, the former was viciously murdered in an incident that shocked music lovers in South Africa.

"That is when I realised that I had to face my greatest personal challenge, to go out there and just do what I knew I should have done before. I had the momentum I needed, and Gito had shown me faith. Above all, it was a way of appreciating what he had, perhaps without knowing, taught me about being a person and a musician. "

Wax bent to work. He roped in several producers from different parts of the world, with different musical backgrounds: Dave Abbott (UK, RSA), Kunle (Nigeria), Neill Solomon (RSA), Spokes H (RSA), Mondo (Congo, DR), Rook (USA), Phoenix (USA). But always, he made sure he had creative control over the material, and sometimes produced the tracks alone. "It is very important to me that my music be a reflection of what I really am, even though I need to work with others to learn from them and to give my music the colour that it needs to compete."

The product of this effort is Ali Gets His Arms, a 14-track album that summarises the effervescent personality of this musical maestro.

'Ali Gets His Arms' was the last recorded song, and until the morning of the recording, I had not a name for the song or the album. I knew Ali's story, and that morning when I woke up, it all came to me just like that." The result is one of the most touching socio-political commentaries ever sung. It came naturally to name the album after the song, and to commit the royalties as well as some proceeds from CD sales to the Ali Fund for the Limbless Association, which caters for children who have lost their limbs in war.

"'Ali Gets His Arms' is not just an CD, it's a crusade."

The entire album is a real thriller. Wax' unique guitar style sets him apart and his distinctness remains evident even as he explores different genres. His themes are captivating and the music enigmatically beautiful.

On 'What's happening tonight?' he goes into the mind of an adolescent who has a crush on a girl but is too scared to tell her his feelings. Sung in English and tsotsi-taal (South African street lingo) it is playfully sweet, fusing pop, rock and hip hop. "Thursday", a soft ballad, is about emotional growth after a failed reationship. "Another Level", featuring Joyous Celebration's Zolile, combines R&B, Hip Hop and Mbagalum, a traditional Cameroonian dance, to render one of Gospel's greatest treasures. As Fresh Music's Benjy Mudie comments, "The album is very varied, great vocals, a great work."


Wax has proven beyond doubt that he is made of superstar material. But 'Ali Gets His Arms' is only a first chapter to a potent biography of this young, talented artist with the world at his feet...



Source: www.waxmusic.co.za