Malawi
By
Oliver Twist
Single review
Following an eight-year hiatus, MC Oliver Twist is back with a new single due for an imminent release. That Single is Malawi and is inspired by the years he lived in that country from 1980.
Malawi is one of those vibes that is so easy to nod your head to. Kicking off with a funky piano into, the beats drops, and MC Oliver Twist takes you on trip back to his days in Malawi and how he first discovered music and the sound of the beat. However, it doesn’t end there as we are transported to a time where plastic bags were used as a football, fists were touched no matter your skin colour and food came from where ever you could get it. From there we are transported to the days he learnt to moon walk and learn every line of Billy Jean and on to being the first white kid to rap and sport an afro and more.
Malawi is a very personal journey through some of the key moments in the life of MC Oliver Twist and you get this deep feel for the discovery of music, the clothes he wore, you also have this mental image of creating a football from Plastic Bags under the blistering sun on a pitch of dried earth. The beat has an almost tribal quality and with the piano vibes running through it, the pace of the track carries you along. MC Oliver Twists delivery is slick, clear and concise, and his wordplay perfectly captures the essence of the individual stories.
There is nothing more you could want from an Emcee who has not released anything since the 2012 release Thunderkid EP through Chess Moves Cartel. Malawi is sure to be one of those tracks that will get plenty of respect and airplay and, to be perfectly honest, rightly so.
Production on Malawi comes from Chris Warner and it is mastered by Dirty Joe.
To get a bit more of a feel for the background of the track I put a few questions to MC Oliver Twist and as you will see the answers do give you a greater sense of understanding:
1-You moved to Malawi in 1980. We get some feeling for what it was like from the track but, what was that time like for you.
My dad had just got his BA in Civil engineering and took a position in Malawi looking after the design and infrastructure of the road system.
It was a magical time. As a youngster making friends from all over the world, since the school I went to was one of only two English speaking international schools in the country.
It was essentially a boarding and day school. Those kids whose families lived hundreds of miles away like my own family, that was the only choice really. All us kids used to cry at night-time from missing their parents. But we got through it with study, sports, and music. There was a lot of abuse from teachers, not just physical. It affected me for decades, until I made the decision to forgive. Forgiveness has been the most healing from my own perspective.
I played for the football team as centre midfield, I was young but went on to have trials in later years for Farnham and Farnborough LOL. I scored twice in the selection games but want picked, mainly I think cuz my attitude was terrible. I was a right cheeky shit.
2-With Malawi being in South Africa, how did that shape your music and did some of that come from the local tribal music.
Absolutely yeh!
Malawi is more central Africa, known as the warm heart of Africa, solely because the people are so humble. Just living a house made bricks made me feel privileged and embarrassed in a way. We connected as friends through our mutual love of fun laughter and pranks.
We used to listen to the radio, but we never had an actual radio, we used a telephone received connected to the wire mosquito grills on the windows to hear local music. It was all in Chechewa which I hadn't learned so all I was listening to was the instrumentation, which spoke to all of us and lifted our spirits. Getting into poetry as a young age, then going on camp outs with some of the school and local farmers and elders. The elders would gather round the campfire with their drums and percussion instruments, I'm talking all hand-crafted instruments. So they'd play and eventually I got the confidence to recite my spoken word stuff, which was very basic and non-rhythmical back then, So yeh that definitely shaped my taste and certainly influenced me towards storytelling and composition structure.
3-So, you have been away from music for a few years even though you continue to write, what was the reason for coming back to the scene at this time.
Intelligent Madness disbanded in 1998/9 to pursue 9-5 jobs and we remain very close friends to this day actually. Yes, I went ahead as a solo emcee. Luckily had one release on 12" with Aerosolik Records back in 2002. I've written solidly for 30 years in fact, only just now have I felt that the composition and texture of content has improved greatly.
The reason for coming back. Pretty simple. Life side-lined me, illness nearly killed me twice. And I hit a point so low that I nearly took my own life. In that very instance, something incredible happened. And I made the decision to grab life by the scruff of the neck and get back to finishing tracks from over 20 years ago! Malawi is actually the fourth version. I rewrote the lyrics five times, so that has been the most enriching to me personally. We have a solo album with a couple of features, so I'm hoping for release next year.
4-Are you planning to revive and release some of your previous unreleased tracks
Some of the lyrics and concepts, some of the old productions are being re vamped, Chris is a brilliant producer. Chatting to the others. Some are in, some are not. But all 100% supportive. I reached out to many producers and artists to see who'd be interested in doing stuff. So, I've been quite lucky really. Currently working with some long-established artists and musicians. The Malawi tune is currently being re used by Nkomba. My friend Ron Nkomba I grew up with in Malawi, that's his band. I reconnected with him after 40 years nearly. So, the live acoustic version is on the way. That was an incredible turn of events. As soon as I heard his music, I knew what was on the cards. So, we just went from the original version. Very grateful to everyone that has helped me back onto my feet, and to those that didn't. Made us more determined.
Huge thanks to MC Oliver Twist for asking me to review Malawi and for answering these few questions and giving such wicked insights into his life and music.
Malawi is released today on Bandcamp, check the link below.
Peace Out,
Steve
Buy Malawi from Bandcamp Here:
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