Code Sangala is a musician, former broadcaster, and malaria activist from Malawi whose new album Mizu was released in 2019 on Naxos World.

Mukunama and Chisoso are the new favorites songs from Mizu album, currently enjoying airplay on all Malawi radio stations.

Code’s musical journey began as a young child in Ndirande township, where his home was always filled with music. His father, an award-winning ballroom dancer, was also a talented guitar player and his mother loved to sing and brought song into the church and home. Based on this love of music, Code pursued a career as a radio broadcaster on the Blantyre-based radio station, FM101, Malawi’s first commercial radio station. As a broadcaster, he hosted prime-time programs including “Music Avenue,” “Drive Time,” and “Mellow Moods.” However, the most influential program that he hosted was “World of Music,” which exposed him to a variety of diverse music from around the world from Putumayo World Music. As his collection of world music grew, so did his interest to make authentic music to showcase cultural heritage from his motherland, Malawi.

Based on his interests in Malawian culture, Code began to serve as a cultural coordinator for a traditional dance ensemble based at the museum of Malawi called Chichiri Cultural Heritage. In this role, Code toured with the dance troupe to Algeria for the second edition of the Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algiers.

At this time, Code shifted from the appreciation of Malawian music to creating it. Code was an instrumental part of the group Kapirintiya, where he participated in composing, arranging, and performing songs from three albums. Kapirintiya produced three albums with popular songs such as Ku Ndirande,Noel and Bwenzi Langa.

Code auditioned for and was selected to participate in the second Big Brother Africa competition in South Africa as the representative from Malawi. He used this opportunity to promote Malawian culture and increase Malawi’s presence in international popular culture. Based on his popularity, Code was invited back to the Big Brother Africa All Stars Edition.

Upon his return, Code began to pursue another passion as an advocate for the elimination of malaria through equitable access to prevention, testing, and treatment interventions. He is the founder of a non-governmental organization called Music against Malaria (MAM). The organization seeks to combat malaria by raising funds to help purchase mosquito nets for communities and hospitals in Malawi and remains active today.

In 2013, Code decided to pursue an independent music career and released his first independent album entitled “Solo- The Album.” Popular songs on the album include “Kumadziore”, “Tithana”, and “Ndiwe.”

Code tours with his band called The Tribe. He has performed in all the major music festivals in Malawi including Lake of Stars,Tumaini Festival,Sand Festival,Ufulu festival and Nkhotakota Festival to mention a few. He performs at Mayoka Village in Nkhatabay every three months.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Code produced and hosted Sounds of Malawi, a standing Thursday event promoting the talent of previously unknown authentic Malawian musicians.

Code describes his music as “Gule Music” because he draws his inspiration from the local “gule wamkulu” and traditional dances from all the three regions of Malawi. He is currently recording new material.