Jeys Marabini speaks on tour of Austria

PROMINENT Bulawayo musician Jeys Marabini believes that he has gained invaluable experience while on his recent trip to Austria.

Marabini last week performed at the annual Roots Music from Southern Africa Music festival, an event that is the brainchild of fellow Bulawayo musician Blessing Nkomo of the imbube group Insingizi Emnyama, who is now based in Austria.

In an interview on his return, Marabini said the experience had been worthwhile as he had a chance to interact with musicians from other countries.

He said he and other African musicians who had taken part in the event had left them with a wealth of knowledge that would be to their benefit in the future.

"This tour has been a great experience for me and I think rubbing shoulders with other artistes from different parts of the globe will only help me forge ahead with my career.

"It was a great experience for me and other artistes from the continent because the festival helped us further our knowledge of music," he said.

Jeys said the Austrian people and artistes had shown great appreciation for his music which was in contrast to the reception that he received when he performed in the country. He said he was looking forward to touring further in order to broaden his musical experience.

"The reception that I received in Austria was overwhelming and I think there is a higher level of appreciation for the arts in that country. The response seemed to be more enthusiastic than I had anticipated and it certainly overshadows the kind of reception that I receive at home. I cannot pinpoint why that is so, but I think it is because people here at home are used to the music we are playing hence do not get as excited when we perform," he said.

Jeys said he was looking to collaborate with artistes that he had struck up relationships with during the festival, as he believes that through collaboration artistes can achieve their best.

"I managed to build relationships with a number of artistes while on this tour and I will be working closer with them in future.

"I plan to work with an Austrian artiste called Hans Theesysnk who is one of the most prominent in that country while I will also be working with Insingizi Emnyama because they have expressed a desire to work closely with me," he said.

Jeys further encouraged local artistes to keep their music authentic as during his trip he had seen how doing so was the formulae for continued success as evidenced by the reception he had received in Austria.