Gospel Dogest - March 6, 2013

In music, whenever performers climb the ladder of success, there are usually a number of other, unnamed, people who have helped to make it all possible.

They can be anyone from the make-up woman to the person who runs around with the sound equipment.

However, when the star finally stands on stage basking in the glory, we tend to forget about the background staff who slave away behind the scenes to make the act work.

Today we are talking about these people.

A few weeks ago we published an article in Gospel Digest on the singer and pastor Dr Malibongwe Gcwabe.

At the time he had released his latest CD, titled Live CD Recording East London.

The good doctor has returned, only this time he has brought a few friends along.

Accompanied by two of his best backing singers, who go by the name The Remnant Brothers, Gcwabe deliberately makes this CD more about them than himself.

Olwethu Mvelo and Sibusiso Timbi have been providing backing vocals for Gcwabe for the past 10 albums.

With this project, called Yehovah Ulungile, The Remnant Brothers get equal billing alongside the celebrated pastor.

“It is an honour to finally be a lead vocalist,” said Mvelo.

He sounded like a desert trekker who has finally arrived at an oasis.

The truth is, no one really cares about background singers. If you consider the various live shows that you have seen, or DVDs of musicians on stage – you rarely remember who backed that Alicia Keys or Beyoncé concert.

Backing singers are normally dressed in black, to make them as invisible as possible while the spotlight is on the main act. It’s their job to make the star look good.

So it is very humble of Gcwabe to take The Remnant Brothers from the back to the front.

On the CD cover of Yehovah Ulungile, Mvelo and Timbi are wearing their Sunday best with their best smiles – triumph after a long walk in the wilderness.

“Leading the vocals in a band changes a lot of things. Once you lead, you will have to be a more focused Christian.

“You need to be more in God’s presence, read more of the Bible and be exemplary to those around you,” explained Timbi.

With Gcwabe being the primary writer, The Remnant Brothers concentrate on the singing.

In some cases they even have Gcwabe backing them the way they have been doing for the past decade.

“I actually go solo on the leads on the song Ngubani Ofana Nawe. It was an interesting experience and the fans who have heard us so far seem to like what we do,” said Timbi.

Timbi defined his sound as that of the established singer Sipho Makhabane, who has carved a niche of his own for more than decade.

“We look up to the Big Fish (Makhabane). We love his traditional gospel and we try to make our music like that,” he said.

At the moment the trio are travelling around the country to promote their CD.

“We have been travelling a lot since we released this album.

“We are planning to go to Cape Town and then to the several gigs which we have in East London,” said Timbi.

• Yehova Ulungile is available in music stores.