The organizers of the 2016 Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) have revealed the names of the five local judges for the much-anticipated event.
The judges, who share an authoritative understanding of the Namibian music industry, will review one of the most prestigious events on the local social calendar – together with international judges who will be announced soon.
Local judges include Axali Doeseb, the composer of the Namibian national anthem, full orchestra and choir conductor, bandmaster, music teacher and arts consultant.
Gerald Johr, a businessperson, merchant, entrepreneur and media marketing executive, is the owner and manager of various business industries. He is a founding pioneer in the establishment of Namibian music on radio and has been executive or assistant producer of various live, radio and video entertainment shows.
As board executive of the National Arts Council he has played a crucial role in the development of the arts. “I’ve followed and closely monitored the NAMAs since inception – and am quite excited to finally be part of it,” said Johr.
Lomo the Prince is a radio presenter/producer at the NBC. Lomo has been a radio presenter for over 15 years. He first started at Katutura Community Radio, then Unam Radio and Radio Energy, and is now at National Radio.
Lomo is a professional MC and currently owns an events management company known as Lomo Productions & Entertainment cc. He has been in the entertainment industry since 1997.
Freddy Taylor – known as the Prince of Soul – rose to fame after winning the NBC Music Makers Award in the 1990s, after which he joined the Cantare Audire Choir on their European tour.
In 1995, Taylor became the first Namibian artist to sign with an international recording company in Germany. Freddy remixed ‘The Israelites’ from Desmond Dekker in Frankfurt. Taylor thereafter joined Mouvement Rapide, an acid-jazz band that grew popular in Germany and its neighbouring countries and later became the first acid-jazz band to perform at the Burghausen Jazz Festival, making Taylor Namibia’s first artist to perform at this big annual event.
Last but not least is Lischen Khacha, aka DJ Lischen, who is a music producer, singer and DJ.
Khachas is also a radio personality and has been a part of the Namibian music industry for a little over nine years. She is regarded as one of Namibia’s top female commercial DJs and has DJ’d alongside South Africa’s top female VJs in the likes of Ms Cosmo from Channel O.
Lischen also assisted and worked alongside the Grammy Award winning sound engineer and producer Allen Sanderson in 2013 during the recording of one of Namibia’s top rock bands, Penilane.
Lischen has also released two house singles as a DJ of which one made it to the African Top 10 Charts. She is currently managing a radio station in Otjiwarongo besides being an entrepreneur.
The 2016 NAMAs will take place on May 6 and 7 and the venue will be announced in due course.