South Africa-based gospel musician, Mthabisi Moyo who hails from Nkayi, has taken advantage of the Covid-19-induced national lockdown to convert his house into a studio.

Moyo who grew up in Umguza, started his music career as a lead guitarist for Jeys Marabini (between 2010 and 2015) before leaving for Botswana where he recorded his first album titled Ngiyabonga Baba the following year. The album had fair airplay locally and in South Africa where he relocated to in 2016.

The artiste who is also a music teacher specialising in guitar coaching at various private schools in the neighbouring country, released his 11-track second album last month which he produced at his studio.

The coming of the lockdown, Moyo said, made him realise his other talents. Among these talents is music production which saw him set up his own studio using the little resources he had.

“I had planned to open the studio in future but because of the free time I had due to the lockdown, I decided to gather everything and start working on the studio,” said Moyo.

He said Covid-19 made him realise that he was not only a guitarist and gospel artiste but that he could do more in the music industry.

“I was comfortable teaching music at schools and doing live shows but this stopped as a result of the national lockdown and as such I was left with no source of income. I had to be creative and come up with other ways of getting money hence the birth of Bethline Studios,” said Moyo.

He said the studio has already attracted the likes of Madlela Skhobokhobo, South Africa-based Zimbabwean maskandi musician Mehlokazulu, Austria-based Vusa Mkhaya and Nqo Blessing Nkomo, Ernest Sebatha of Botswana and other South African artistes.

Source: Chronicle