Focus Acappella
Nkosilesisa Ncube, Sunday Life Reporter
Until the Pitch Perfect frenzy hit members of the public in 2012, acappella was just a neglected genre of music. However, long before Fat Amy became a household name, Focus Acappella group was already paving way for their “Aca-stardom”.
The Bulawayo Pelandaba-based group was formed in 2009 when five young men decided it would be interesting to form an acappella group with mostly males and introduce one female voice to the mix. The group has since then kept a male to female ratio of six to one.
The group developed out of both a love for acappella and early exposure to the genre of music.
“We grew up in an acappella setting in the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) singing, listening and also being inspired by a lot of acappella music groups. We fell in love with it, and ever since then the love hasn’t dropped an inch but grown to greater heights,” said Isaiah Motsi, a member of the group.
The group considers itself as one without a target audience as its music caters for everyone.
“We have a watch word ‘Focus to the rescue of your soul’. We are living in the last days therefore we urge everyone who gets the chance to listen to our music to focus on the cross and on Jesus Christ because He is coming soon. Both the young and the old are to be inspired by the gospel we preach through music,” said Motsi.
Motsi added that they are different from other acappella groups because they have a talented lady among them, who he jokingly referred to as their secret ingredient.
“The fact that we have an amazing young lady within the group sets us apart. But other than that, we have our own unique sound that is different from any other group as it comprises of our musical ideas brought about by individual members which are then therefore put on the table and then worked on to produce one solid soothing piece,” he said.
Focus recently held their first ever concert, dubbed “Bayethe — The first wave” on 22 October. According to them, the concert was a way of giving back to the Bulawayo community by bringing people of all ages together to praise and worship in one place. Supporting acts during the concert included Adonai Music, soloist Elaine, Gweru-based Reclaim Music and God’s Grace from South Africa.
Reception for the concert was generally positive as they received a great turn out from both young and old people and Focus’s first single Bayethe was received well by the audience.
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