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Bongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
CHARLES Ndebele, leader of a splinter group of Ndolwane Super Sounds, says fans should not read much into a fight over use of the name Ndolwane between him and his former colleague Martin Sibanda but should be concerned about the quality of their productions. In 2011, the group split unceremoniously with Ndebele forming Ndolwane Super Sounds Amangwe Part 1 and Sibanda remaining with the original name Ndolwane.

Responding to questions over who has the rights over the use of Ndolwane Super Sounds as a trade name, Ndebele said fans and critiques should be more concerned with musical productions from Ndolwane Super Sounds not the name.

“There is nothing special about the name Ndolwane as it is a name like any other. Fans should be worried about the products these people who bear the name Ndolwane Super Sounds have and whether they are of good quality or not. Anyone can use the name Ndolwane and no one has the right over it,” he said.
Ndebele said Ndolwane was the name of a place where the original group members came from.

“Ndolwane is the name of three places, the first is the area called Ndolwane where the group originated, and the second is the people who bear the totem of Ndolwane who are the Sibindis. Lastly, the headman of the area is called Ndolwane. So no one really owns the name,” he said.

Ndebele said the problem was that people created a feud between him and Sibanda as others had vested interests in the group.
“If there are too many people commenting on a certain issue you end up having a lot of versions of the truth. Martin and I know the truth and if one wants the truth they have to sit the two of us down and at the end of the day they will know the truth,” he said.

Ndebele said they were also to blame for escalating the feud because when questioned on the issue they sometimes bad-mouth each other.
“I have learnt not to answer people when they ask me about Martin and what he has said about me. I have heard a lot of bad things about me and I have learnt to keep quiet,” he said.

Turning to his career, Ndebele, who has spent over 20 years in South Africa, said he was releasing a second album Induku in December if all goes well.
“The album has been written and it is ready for recording. I am just finalising on one or two things concerning the album and if all goes well by December it will be out,” he said.

Ndebele said the album has songs like Hala, Ncedo, Mwana, Igazi and a maskandi track titled Bosso.
“The album will be a mixture of isiNdebele and Kalanga tracks that tackle the issue of domestic violence. One has to listen very carefully to the songs in order to understand the message on each of the tracks,” he said.

Asked why he had not been active on the local music scene since February, Ndebele said he was busy recruiting new band members to play the rhythm and lead guitar.

“The name Ndolwane is very prestigious and we have a way in which we play our music. So I took two young men Lovemore Sibanda and Lovemore Ntini who were under my wing to teach them the Ndolwane way,” he said.