Frustration creates new path for Theo Thomson
He became frustrated when after all the efforts he put in his previous album received no support let alone the much needed attention.
And he nearly called it quits and thought he was being overlooked and true to this he took a prolonged break although he was also helping and establishing other artists.
But after such a long break, musician Theo Thomson is out and determined to show that he has what it takes to hit the top in the music industry and for him the sky is the limit.
“I did so much with my previous album but I just felt overlooked and that made me move back,” he said.
But Theo said this time around he is back and re-energised such that he will give it a go and aim at shooting for the stars and take on the world.
His second studio album The White Elephant will be launched on June 5, 2016 at Robins Park in Blantyre.
“The long break gave me time to work on this album, of course I was frustrated but the frustrations have created a new path and as I said I am ready to give it a go,” said Theo, during a media gathering at Polytechnic in Blantyre on Wednesday.
The soft-spoken musician said the launch will be unique and that Malawians will see and experience what they have never seen before.
His previous album Gypsy which features songs such as ‘Kutentha,’ which came out after he dropped his EP Gypsy Awake, showed the country his verve in music.
But while his music was welcomed on the market some felt he was much into Western styles.
But just like the country has of late seen the rebranding of several youthful musicians aiming at giving their music a Malawian identity, Theo too has rebranded himself with The White Elephant.
Listening to one of his songs in the album ‘Maybe Tomorrow,’ featuring singer and guitarist Faith Mussa, one would not hesitate to give him thumbs up for a job well done.
The song is good with mature lyrics and one is able to appreciate the sound with Mussa’s acoustic guitar shining once again.
“It’s a song I love too and different influences forced me to compose it. I am happy to have worked with Faith, who is very talented. I met him at a show in Blantyre and I liked the style of his guitar and I thought we could work together and lucky enough when I approached him he accepted,” said Theo.
He added that the song took them two studio sessions where they first of all played guitars before eventually coming up with the right stuff.
The lyrics in the song even move in line with his comeback although it talks about woman pressurising her man but the man, who is not ready tells her maybe tomorrow.
They lyrics go like…. I know that you’ve been waiting for me to get down on one knee/I admire your patience and everything you mean to me/there’s no need to worry/ it’s not you, it’s me/good things come to those who wait.
The man further tells the woman that she doesn’t have to worry as he wants to raise enough money and make everything perfect and that someday they would get married.
Theo said this is not just an international sound but rather it’s an international sound told by a Malawian.
The musician said the track will be released today.
Apart from Faith Mussa, who is the creator of the hit ‘Desperate’ and is set to drop his second album, Theo has also worked with Blak Jak, Yesaya and Jabby in The White Elephant.
But why call it The White Elephant?
“It’s more like a folklore story of a gift becoming a curse and this just moves in line with the journey I have travelled to be where I am today. It has been a long journey,” he said.
Theo’s music journey has indeed come from afar.
He has shown his immense talent looking at several of the many music videos he has produced, some of which could have even been featuring in some of the popular channels but the results have been negative.
Theo said in his previous works, people have been familiar with him writing love songs but he has gone deeper in the latest album tackling different issues.
Apart from ‘The White Elephant’ and ‘Maybe Tomorrow,’ the other songs in the 15-track album are ‘Magic,’ ‘Where Do We Go,’ and ‘She Just Don’t Know.’
Theo’s music journey dates back to the time he was a teenager. His mother noticed his music talent.
“She observed my talent and later pushed me by entering me in different competitions. I participated in several competitions in United Kingdom,” he explained.
He joined a group which later broke up before he met Tapps Bandawe.
“It was just a brief link but when I came to Malawi, I met Yesaya and Jabby and we started working together and since then we have been doing music,” said Theo.
He said it has been a big learning cave for him to be where he is today and that he has pushed several artists through Matalala Records.
“For me music grew as time went by otherwise in the beginning although my mother saw talent in me, I used to love sports and I wanted to be a footballer,” said Theo.
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