Audius Mtawarira

Audius Mtawarira, is a multi-ARIA Award winning Australian record producer, composer, artist and songwriter more commonly known as "Audius".

Early life

Audius Mtawarira was born in 1977 in Harare, Zimbabwe, and now resides in Sydney, Australia. He attended Peterhouse Boys, a private boarding school in Zimbabwe where he sang in the choir and played the drums.

Career

After finishing his university degree in Perth, Australia he turned his attention writing and producing music. He started producing in 2002, producing the majority of Selwyn's album, Meant To Be which peaked at number nine on the ARIA Album charts[1] and was certified Gold.[2] In 2003 he collaborated with Delta Goodrem on Innocent Eyes co-writing.[3][4] and producing the number one single[5] "Born to Try". The song debuted at number three before reaching number one on the Australian Singles chart, becoming Goodrem's first number one single. It spent three months in the top five and went on to sell over 210,000 copies, making it the third highest selling single of 2002. In the UK, it debuted and peaked the charts at number three, spending eleven weeks in the top forty and reached number one on the New Zealand singles charts. "Born to Try" won 'Single of the Year' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2003.[6]

In 2004, Audius produced Australian Idol contestant Paulini's debut album One Determined Heart which produced number 1 hit "Angel Eyes" and went certified Platinum.[7] In 2005 he co-wrote fellow-Idol Contestant Ricki-Lee Coulter's "Hell No!", which reached number five on the ARIA singles charts,[8] and produced majority of her album.

After having some great success, Audius turned his attention to building his own studios and record label. He is a part owner of The Sound Academy studios in Sydney as well as record label Blindfaith Entertainment.

In 2008 Audius produced Jessica Mauboy's new album, Been Waiting, co-writing her single, "Running Back",[9] which peaked at number three on the Australian singles charts.[10] 2008 also saw Audius launch his own fashion label Shona Clothing which is heavily influenced by his Zimbabwean heritage. "Running Back" won 'Highest Selling Single' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009.[11]

Solo career

Audius' solo recordings have garnered him popularity in his native Zimbabwe and South Africa. He has released 4 albums in Africa - 'Audius' (2002), 'Ever After' (2003), 'Music and Me' (2005) and 'Day Like This' (2008). His current release 'Day Like This' was also released in Australia through Blindfaith/Inertia. In 2003, Audius won the Best Urban Grooves (Male) at the Zimbabwe Music Awards.

Discography

Solo artist

Production discography

Songwriting discography

References

  1. ↑ "Selwyn - Meant to Be". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2002 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2002. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  3. ↑ ""Born to Try" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Delta's Single Out Monday". Deltagoodrem.com.au. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  5. ↑ "Delta Goodrem - Born to Try". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "Delta Goodrem ARIA Award wins & nominations". Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2004 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2002. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Ricki-Lee - Hell No!". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  9. ↑ ""Running Back" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "Jessica Mauboy - Been Waiting". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  11. ↑ "Jessica Mauboy ARIA Award wins & nominations". Retrieved 4 February 2010.