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Artist
Peter Mawanga
12+ albums
malawifolk
about
‘I love music that speaks to you before you even hear or understand the lyrics.’- Peter Mawanga. ‘Peter Mawanga is one of Malawi’s most unique and talented artists’. - Rhythm of Life founder, Tristram Johnson. At the height of the Chimurenga, the struggle for independence in Zimbabwe, a Malawian missionary family arriving at Harare airport was stranded inside the terminal while chaos took over the city streets. Oblivious to the muted panic in the airport lounge, two year old Peter Mawanga broke the tension as he sang Amazing Grace, perfectly in tune, to an amazed audience. His uncle pronounced there and then that the boy was destined to be a great musician. After Peter’s astounding first concert, his love affair with music saw him do anything he could to learn and experience music; through school clubs, the church choir and friends he learned to play keyboards and guitar. In Malawi in 2002 while studying mechanical engineering he recorded a playful album that set him on the path to his musical destiny. Recorded under the name Peter Pine ‘Citylife’, was a sensation across Malawi. The R n’B album’s controversial hit single ‘Amakhala ku Blantyre’ discussed the realities of urban vs rural living. The song was so controversial it inspired several ‘response’ songs which opposed Peter’s shattering of the ‘city streets are paved with gold’ myth. Buoyed by the overnight success of his first album, Peter abandoned his studies for a professional music career. Shedding the persona of
