Latest must have for Zim musicians: Studio

Apart from the studios, some musicians have established their own music labels. Oliver Mtukudzi operates a recording studio in Norton under his own stable, Tuku Music that has recorded and released several musicians.
Before opening his studio, Mtukudzi used to record in South Africa. He also used to record at Gramma Records’ Mosi-a-Tunya Studios.
Gospel music wonder Pastor Charles Charamba launched Fishers of Men label. Pastor Charamba has also set up his own recording studio. “We have just completed setting up our own studios and we will be in the studio recording new songs for our upcoming albums,” says Pastor Charamba.
Charamba and his wife Olivia used to record under the Gramma Records label.
Gospel musician Elias Musakwa has acquired two of the biggest recording studios, Mosi-a-Tunya Studios and Shed Studios.
Musakwa has three music labels under his wing – Gramma Records, Zimbabwe Music Corporation and Ngaavongwe Records.
Mechanic Manyeruke also opened his recording studio and has recorded several musicians, among them Amanda Sagonda.
Alick Macheso recently unveiled his Last Power Media recording studio. The sungura musician joined hands with studio ace and Mosi-a-Tunya Studios engineer Bothwell Nyamhondera.
Macheso is a former Gramma Records stable recording musician.
For over 25 years Nyamhondera had worked as the sole producer for the Gramma Records stable, producing 90 percent of the bands until the company takeover by Musakwa.
Nyamhondera has produced albums for Macheso, Charamba, Thomas Mapfumo, Nicholas Zacharia, Leonard Dembo, Tongai Moyo and Jonah Moyo.
Macheso has been holding back any new releases and might take this opportunity to release them through his label. And so will Pastor Charamba and wife Olivia.
Macheso has in the past few years been the top selling sungura musician in Zimbabwe while the Charambas  have dominated the gospel music scene.
The competition to retain popular musicians’ services is proving to be very tough. Gramma Records have in their stable Tongai Moyo and Nicholas Zacharia, but the record label had to buy them new cars so as to keep them. The two are the only notable musicians who released new albums while most musicians held back their products. This could have been because of contractual agreement issues.
Tendayi Mupfurutsa was among the first musicians to open a recording studio, High Density Records in the 1990s. He recorded several musicians among them Andy Brown and rhumba star Kanda Bongoman.