Remaking old classics into contemporary style has been a fashionable thing that most artists do as a way of keeping the songs alive.
In South Africa, more artists have joined this wave, giving each hit song a new flair that will spark interest for listeners to indulge in it.
The popular long-standing record label, Gallo, has chosen popular music icon Theo Kgosinkwe along with De Mogul SA to give a new spin to one of their old classics, Khomba Ra Mina by music legend Paul Ndlovu.
The music duo adds to the list of artists who have been part of Gallo Remixed in reimagining songs, taking the challenge to bring this song into a new era bridging Tsonga disco, Afropop and amapiano.
Gallo Record Company celebrates its 95th birthday by reimagining valued African hits from Gallo’s catalogue for a new generation; with Grammy award-winning DJ and artist Black Coffee as executive producer.
As someone who has always been inspired by Ndlovu’s music, Kgosinkwe was more than humbled to revive his song.
“I am honoured to be part of the Gallo remix catalogue, reviving the songs that our fathers, uncles, sisters and brothers used to listen to,” said Kgosinkwe. “As a songwriter, singer and producer I found this project exciting, as well as challenging to work on. I can’t wait to hear the other reworked songs in the Gallo catalogue.”
De Mogul SA added: “It came as a surprise to me that Theo suggested us to work on Gallo Remixed and I feel honoured as it could have been any other producer of Theo’s choice. Expectations are high for the remix because the original song by Paul Ndlovu is one of those timeless South African hits. We always kept in mind that we did not want to lose the original nature of the song but to reflect the current youthful sound, hence we made it amapiano.”
When Khomba Ra Mina was released by Gallo records in 1985 it reached gold status in that year.
The amapiano remix pays homage to Ndlovu, giving new life to the classic hit and simultaneously reminding people about the Tsonga legend’s story through music.
Kgosinkwe’s collaboration with De Mogul SA marks the 5th Gallo Remixed single in the series to be released, adding an amapiano feel to the Tsonga disco hit.