The music of Andy Brown and the Storm bears testimony to the wealth of talent and spirit that exists in Zimbabwe. The Group's blend of traditional Zimbabwean instruments with new age sounds, in a fusion that challenges traditional and modern music metaphors
CHIWONISO & VIBE CULTURE Chiwoniso has been fronting her acoustic group Chiwoniso & Vibe Culture for the past four years. From 2001 to 2004, she was also a core member of the multinational all-women’s band Women’s Voice, whose original members hailed from Norway, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, America, Israel and Algeria. Chiwoniso has also been busy in film, having worked on the soundtracks for movies and documentaries by an array of Zimbabwean writers and film producers in the last ten years.
Her musical collaborations have included recording with Marie Boine, Brilliant, Kris Kristoffersen and Sinead O’Connor on the cd celebrating the 100th commemoration of the Nobel Peace Prize Awards, composing and performing for the UNDP Africa 2015 song
project “Les Tams-Tams de l’Afrique” alongside Salif Keita, Habib Koite (Mali), Ishmael Lo, Youssou Ndour, Manu Dibango, Baaba Maal (Senegal), Achieng Abura (Kenya), Saintrick and Koffi Olomide(Congo). She contributed to the “Women Care” cd recorded last year along with women artists from other African countries and from Norway.
David Gweshe is a true pioneer of Zimbabwean music, constantly expanding the boundaries of traditional Shona music. Whether playing mbira at a bira ceremony or leading a group playing electric guitars, marimba, accordion—or, in this case, steel drum—the wisdom of his spirituality comes through.
Born in 1940, Sekuru Gweshe comes from the Budya people, a subgroup of the Kore Kore. He is a descendant of Nehoreka, the first of the Budya people and the founder of the Shumba totem originating in Tanganyika (Tanzania). He began playing njari at age 14 and over time added keys to the njari in order to "play all the parts" of the music that he heard in his head. This is how Gweshe devised the Munyonga mbira featured on his CD Mhuri YekwaNehoreka. The songs on this recording are mainly played at religious functions in which the music is used to summon ancestral spirits.
US 2008 Tour - Sekuru Gweshe & Boterekwa will tour the US June - September 2008 for more info please e-mail LiveMusic@africarythms.com.
2 July 2008 Chicago Roots Music and Arts Festival - Multi Media Workshops.
7 July 2008 Chicago Concert
23 July 2008 Gweshe/Works Songs/ Blues Group TBD - Chicago
Genre: Traditional WebSite A young singer from the Ivory Coast, Dobet Gnahoré has ignited stages in Africa and Europe with her vibrant performances. As a child, Dobet was trained in the music and dance traditions of the Bété people by her father, Boni Gnahoré, a well known performer in West Africa.
Imagine the beautiful safari of Zimbabwe , Africa . The wind blows softly, and the thunderous sound of tribal drums beat rhythmically in the distance. Through the forests walks a beautiful lioness…brazen and strong. Her presence demands the attention of all, you are forced to stop and listen. Such is the case with 20 year old recording artist, Edene'. “I'd like to think of myself as a lioness… warm, strong and determined”, Edene' said after she was asked what best describes her as an artist and individual. And for those who know this articulate young woman know agree with this description. Some say this ambition was instilled by her parents who are equally ambitious, her father being a politician and her mother a fourth grade teacher.
Genre: Traditional WebSite One of Africa's most exciting performers, Habib Koité plays music that reflects the diverse musical traditions of his Malian homeland. Born in 1958 in Khassonké, near the border of Senegal, he developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother. Accompanied by his band Bamada, Koité has released a number of successful and critically acclaimed albums, including Ma Ya and Baro on Putumayo.
Genre: Traditional WebSite Lágbájá is widely considered to be one of Africa's most exciting and interesting contemporary artists. Combining sophisticated compositions with a dynamic stage show and enigmatic personality, he is the current rage in Nigeria, in constant demand for live performance and ubiquitous on the airwaves. His monthly shows at his own Motherlan' Niteclub, in the heart of Ikeja - the capital of Lagos state, sell-out well in advance.
Mention African song and most people think of South African practitioners of the vocal arts - Solomon Linda, Miriam Makeba and perhaps more than anyone else in recent memory, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It is Ladysmith Black Mambazo who has come to represent the traditional culture of South Africa. They are regarded as South Africa's cultural emissaries at home and around the world.
Genre: Traditional WebSite Guitarist Louis Mhlanga was born on 10 November 1956 in Harare, Zimbabwe. At the tender age of 10, he started playing guitar.
Completely self-taught, he mastered the instrument by copying artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and many other influential bands in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Besides the Western influence from music he listened to on the radio broadcasts, Mhlanga studied the southern and west African guitar tradition intensively.
The Mahotella Queens represent so much of what is the best in the music of South Africa: the finely honed art of passionate singing, the latticework of funky rhythms, and the breathtaking art of spectacular live performance
