On 3rd January 2018, one of the world’s finest and most inspirational horn players died. After a career of changing music, and not just in his homeland of South Africa, Hugh Masekela was sadly taken from the world of jazz. Having been a figure of defiance throughout apartheid, and a...
Tag Archives: Zimbabwe
On Thursday 25th October, Mokoomba came all the way from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe to play to a rather diverse crowd at St Mary’s Church, Walthamstow. The night began with myself and my friend exhausted from work, sat slumped on one of the church pews lined with bibles near the...
Even if named recalling the late 1990s Riot Grrrl movement, GRRRL goes far beyond the usual punk and feminist boundaries. The entirely female-powered band going on stage at Archspace on the 10th of April gives a 360˚ perspective on its inclusive aims, gathering its inspiration and creativity from all four...
When you talk with Samy Ben Redjeb, future and past become synonyms and mingle with each other. The founder of the German label, Analog Africa, has brought vintage sounds coming from all over the African Continent to the present and set free their cutting-edge characters. That’s why, when you ask him...
We don’t often go back home sweating and physically tired after a gig, but when we do, it’s because we’ve danced the show away and that’s inevitably what you’ll end up doing when Mokoomba are on stage. Since 2008, the Zimbabwean quintet put their souls and bodies in their performances...
Mokoomba are the biggest band in Zimbabwe, achieving global recognition, with their breakthrough album Rising Tide. Five years on, with an established global fan base after playing in over 40 countries, they’ve released their self-produced third album, Luyando (Out Here Records). Attracting glowing reviews, the album blends their pan-African sound with traditional...
Five years since their debut breakthrough album Rising Tide, Mokoomba return with Luyando – a focused, soulful and emotive collection of songs paying homage to their Zimbabwean culture. In the intervening years, the six-piece from Chinotimba Township, Victoria Falls have toured extensively – taking their blend of Zimrock and traditional...