Thursday 5 February 2015, 5.30pm
Book Café, 139 S.Machel Ave, Harare
On Thursday 5 February at 5.30pm, vibrant young mbira artist VIMBAI ZIMUTO returns home to the Book Café stage to launch her CD ‘KURE KWEMESO’. After 14 years of growing in the music industry at home and spreading her wings further, Vimbai is back from Europe to launch her second CD ‘Kure Kwemeso’, with support from Harare’s arts facilitators Pamberi Trust and the Book Cafe. The event is free and all people are welcome.
Vimbai is well known to Zimbabwean audiences from her early years, through her involvement in various youth programmes including Music Crossroads, Pamberi Trust’s BOCAPA youth and FLAME gender programmes where she performed alongside the great Zimbabwean mbira star Chiwoniso Maraire, the UMOJA Cultural Flying Carpet, and a 3-year stint as backing vocalist for Oliver Mtukudzi.
From 2007 to 2010 Vimbai participated regularly in Sistaz Open Mic, a platform for emerging women artists by Pamberi Trust’s gender programme FLAME (Flame Literary Arts & Music Enterprise), and made good use of the opportunity to grow, and the exposure and experience she gained. She said “It was a fruitful experience and very valuable. That’s where I met the promoter for my first album, it was a good platform to meet people, to establish myself as a professional musician. I also met different leading musicians that had influence on my growth as a female mbira artist, because there were very few at the time I started, and women were not really dominant in the genre, but Sistaz Open Mic gave me the chance to communicate one-on-one with professional women in the music industry and understand how to grow from there. I remember we had workshops and discussions, and it was a very positive experience. Even today I can talk to those musicians, they are like sisters in a small industry. It gives a connection among artists, unlike someone just doing their own thing out there.”
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After establishing links in Europe during a 3-month tour with ‘Daughters of Africa’- a collaboration with 12 women from 8 African countries in 2010 - she relocated to the Netherlands where she is now based in Zeeland, performing in various collaborations as ‘Vimbai and Makali Sounds’ comprising 5 musicians from 5 different countries, and continuing to dazzle audiences in the Netherlands and Belgium with her proud delivery of mbira from Zimbabwe. Among many other performances, in January 2015 Vimbai performed for the Queen of Belgium at the Bozar theatre in the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts.
Vimbai says “The Lord has been faithful to me all the years of my life. This is my second offering to the world. After working with my first music teacher Emmanuel Mujuru, followed by deep learning experiences with Oliver Mtukudzi , the late Sam Mtukudzi and Chiwoniso Maraire, ZOMA Swing, Zeekoraal (Martha Roelofs), Makali Sounds, and all the important people that are not mentioned here - I am so grateful for all the lessons and friendships learnt and built. I thank all the hands, minds and voices that made this product possible. Stay blessed.”
In this offering, Vimbai is supported by gifted young recording musicians: Zealman Munengu and Freedom Manatsa, drums; Chris Fefini, keys; Pablo Nakkapa, guitar; Clive Mono Mukundu, guitar; Solo Sunguro, bass, vocals and Chalene Firey, backing vocals.
Vimbai’s second delivery has been made possible with support from Africalia (Belgium), Stichting Welzijn (Oostburg) and Monolio Studios (Harare), and the launch is supported by Pamberi Trust’s FLAME project for women artists. Pamberi Trust core programmes for youth and gender are supported by Hivos and Africalia.
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