Rita Ray
January 2004 - Stella Chiweshe and the mbira
Welcome to Africa On Your Street. The African music scene in the UK is pretty hectic, what with all the great musicians based here, and then there is the constant stream of visiting African artists. Just think back to all the great musicians that have been here in last few months – Oumou Sangare, Salif Keita, Daara J, Souad Massi …
Stella Chiweshe
One artist I was really looking forward to is Stella Chiweshe from Zimbabwe. Stella is a powerful, charismatic performer and she is a virtuoso of the mbira, or thumb piano, a sacred instrument that is central to Zimbabwean culture. The mbira is a simple looking instrument, a block of wood with metal strips attached but it produces the most hypnotic spiritual music - in the right hands of course.
One of the few women to play the mbira, Stella is a gifted singer, dancer, and actress. She toured the UK in February and we had some fun and games: the tour was nearly called off at the last minute when Stella's musicians weren't granted visas. But it takes a lot more than the British High Commission in Harare to stop our Stella. She called on a group of talented European-based Zimbabweans including her daugter Virginia, and made the UK tour happen.
Mbira Band
The London dates were at the end of the tour and what a weekend we had. The Friday night show was pure acoustic mbira magic. Stella really is a pioneer, how can I explain where she is taking the mbira? You've heard of 'guitar bands', well this was an 'mbira band' featuring bass mbira, rhythm mbira and lead mbira a full drum kit. They made a joyful sound and Stella was in great voice.
The next night Stella was our guest at our Shrine club night where she played over our deconstructed DJ beats, joining our Synchrosystem. Synchro what? Well the Synchrosystem is a sort of cockeyed, ever changing band where DJ Max and I invite along musicians, rappers, poets and dancers to jam over our beats. Synchrosystem artists that night include London-based vocalist, Shingai Shinowa, an outrageously talented young ZimBrit, and her Brighton-based cousin Linus Magaya an innovative mbira player with a great voice.
The whole thing was experimental and I was so nervous, but what an adventure we had. It was wonderful seeing and hearing Stella adapting to our loops and beats - taking them on and weaving them into her world. It was edgy and sometimes it just rocked.
It was lovely meeting the people who'd read about the tour on my Africa on Your Street column and came along to the shows - thanks for coming along - what did you think? Did you enjoy the shows? Drop me a line in the comments box below and let me know.
Find out more about the mbira and listen to some of the leading players based here in the U.K. at the World On Your Street website. Here are some names to get you going: Netsayi Chigwendere from Bristol, Linos Wengara Magaya in Brighton, Anna Mudeka in Norwich, Chartwell Dutiro in Ashburton, Devon.
So 'till the next time,
Rita
Rita Ray's Recommended CDs
Stella Chiweshe - Talking Mbira
Tony Allen - Home Cooking
Fela Kuti - The Best Best of Fela Kuti The Black President
Check out my recommended CDs this month in the CD Reviews section or go to Music Search to look at our archive of recommended CDs.