Hello all. I would like to formally
introduce myself. My name is Faith Victoria Tsoka and I have a passion for
music.
I know how cliché I am about to
sound; It is the story of almost every singer on any competition, but it holds
true to me and it is how my journey
began: I have been singing since I was a little kid.
Yeah yeah, I know, we have heard
that countless times but it is how my ‘once upon a time’ begins. The first
person to ever push me towards singing is my father, Associate Professor Tsoka.
I never really understood what he ‘saw’ in my voice. He had to do a lot of
pushing for me to finally sing a special song in church. That song, “If God be
for us” marked the beginning of my singing sprees. I remember while singing,
there was noise and a lot of cheering. I had no idea what was happening. It
turns out the song was great. People from the little church I grew up in started
to push me to sing from then on. But I never really took it as seriously as I
should have.
Anyway, my mother also played a big
part in ‘drilling’ music in me. She made me start music lessons, particularly,
piano lessons with Dr Chanunkha. I remember I would go there every Thursday
afternoon at 4 PM-I don’t forget the time because I had to stop playing with my
friends, and take myself down to his residence and it used to feel like a
punishment. Mum would always push me towards it until I went to boarding school.
But I learnt a lot from those lessons and slowly, all this was pushing me
towards music. Towards singing.
Let me not get too excited, I’m
sure y’all are not interested in my childhood. I have always been singing in
church. I reached a point where I was no longer forced to play the keyboard or
to sing. There was a time dad asked me if we could go to a studio and record
some songs, and I dismissed the thought. I said it was too big a project and I didn’t
have enough songs to actually record. I came up with a bunch of excuses because
I thought I wasn’t good enough. I
never really thought I could do music so seriously. So I just excused my way
out of it.
Later on in my life, I still did
music, but halfheartedly. I was into secular music. A lot. There wasn’t an
artist I didn’t have in my iPod. But God was merciful to me and he helped me
separate from secular music. I can honestly say my life took a turn from then.
It seems as though I had removed something, and my hands were now free to hold
on to something God was handing down to me. I sometimes wish I quit worldly
music earlier, but it’s okay… it was all for a good reason. Here I am now. This
is where I am supposed to be.
There was also a year that I took
off from music completely- that I do not regret. That is the time I got closer
to God and I put my life back on track. I discovered my weak points and worked
on my voice. I also finally decided to record music, but I never ever thought
it would take me so far. The way this started was so simple. A good friend of
mine sent me a quote that touched me:
“When I stand before God at the end of my life,
I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I
used everything you gave me.’”- Erma Bombeck
That touched me. It made me act. I
told dad that we had to start recording and it all begun as a little project to
put a selection of songs I have sung in church on record and distribute to a
few people in church. Then it grew bigger with every step. I kept adding songs
till I came to a whooping 15 track list (yes, I know… those are just too many
songs for an album man), but I couldn’t pick! Every song was somehow justified.
And I am glad dad was willing to let me record that many songs.
I had the pleasure of working with
a very talented musician, producer, sound engineer and a great artist… seriously,
Twin BeatZ, you are fire! I have never come across someone with such attention
to detail. Twin worked so hard to produce the instrumentals to this CD from
scratch, and he pushed me and my voice. He wanted excellence and was willing to
meet my million demands.
I remember the first time he heard
my little demo, the best song I thought I had, and he shook his head. My hard
work. My ‘proudest’ track was criticized; left, right and centre, you guys. I
was humbled! But I needed that. I was singing in my comfort zone and I had to
grow. So I came out with new knowledge about singing every studio day. I also
had to learn other voices- alto and tenor; voices I had little knowledge about.
I am proud to say I was my own backup singer (it’s not as easy as I thought!),
thanks to my producer who worked tirelessly and patiently with me while I
sometimes (most times) sung off key (“Apa nde mwayimba zonamatu. Tamenyanso!”).
Lastly, let me share with you a
little experience I had while recording and a very valuable lesson I will carry
to my grave. During recording, Twin would always say, “Sing from the heart! Make
me feel what you are feeling!” (I think I can say he said this almost every day
at the start of recording) and I would have to do lines over and over again
till he felt what I was singing about. I don’t think I really got what he was
driving at when he asked me to “sing from the heart”. I was so used to these
songs since I had sung them so many times, that I just…sung.
There was a time that I was
fighting some things in my life, and things were not going the way I would have
loved them to. I was frustrated and feeling defeated, like I have let God down
yet again. On this particular day, we were recording “Alabaster Box”. I’ve
always loved this song and I sung it before, and yes, sometimes I felt like the
woman that washed Jesus’ feet; but on this particular day, I WAS THE WOMAN THAT
WASHED JESUS’ FEET!!! I was there at his feet, while people judged me and
questioned my Lord’s decision to let me wash his feet and dry him with my hair.
Right in the booth, with all the insecurities I was feeling, tears started
streaming down my face. But I didn’t want to stop. I hit a new kind of high. I
SUNG FROM THE HEART. I just let myself be in that spirit until the song ended.
Then my producer clapped his hands.
He was so happy! He told me how happy he was that I finally ‘sung from the
heart’ without him having to remind me. But he had no idea I had just cried
throughout the song (now he knows). If you listen to track number 5 on the
album, you may notice how different my voice sounded, especially from the
second verse. From this day, I learnt what it meant to sing from the heart…
what it means to sing and let yourself BE the song. I learnt just how important
it is to do everything for God from the bottom of your heart and how different things
turn out when you do.
I have too many people to thank for
being there throughout my music journey but I can only mention a few. My dad
and my mum have been the best parents a girl could ever ask for, thank you for
being those parents that let their daughter live her dream. My family- I
appreciate your support and I love you very much. Twin Beatz, my producer, the
man behind this album, I am forever grateful to God for leading me to you and
for your talent. You worked tirelessly, I am so grateful. God bless you. My
friends, too numerous to mention, thank you! Zomba Church, you are the best
family any Christian could ever have. My relations who are very supportive, I
love you very much.
Pastor Nkomba, Dr Chanunkha, Susan Dunga, Innocent Chikadza,
Justin Kumala, McDonald Chitekwe… you were the first people to ever see
potential in me when I was barely twelve years old. I thank you with all my
heart. Friends on social media, you are always supportive and encourage me,
thank you, you are all wonderful people. Also, thank you, technology! Justin and McLean Kumala also played the piano and guitar
on some tracks and I thank God for their sacrifice and talent. Martha Mpunga, you
have been more than a sister to me. God bless you and Maness Mlaviwa for
opening your home during recording.
Biggest THANK YOU to my God, he has been too kind to me. He could have
chosen any other person to make this album… I do not have the best voice in the
world, I am still working on so many things, but Lord, you let me experience
the joy that comes with music. Who am I, Lord? MWANDIKONDELA!!! I don’t know
how I can ever thank you for this gift of music. I am truly truly humbled and overwhelmed by your love.
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.
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Hello, again. I would like to
formally introduce myself. My name is Faith Victoria Tsoka and I am a sinner
saved by grace. I have been highly favoured and I am nothing but God’s vessel.
I am Faith
Victoria Tsoka, and I have a passion for music.
May you be blessed.
Psalms 150
Download single from reverbnation.com/faithtsoka
If you would like a copy of my album, please let me know.