THOMAS MAPFUMO
Rise Up
Calabashmusic.com
LIRA
RECOMMENDS!
OLIVER MTUKUDZI
Nhava
Heads Up
The musical
life of Zimbabwe is totally dominated by two giants with many things in common.
Each one of them is now releasing a new album, where Thomas Mapfumo’s Rise Up
is only appearing digitally through the US company Calabash Music.
Musically,
they are close to each other. Both have very personal and expressive voices.
The music is soft and melodic with a flowing, swinging, slightly hypnotic
sound, simple on the surface but, at a closer listen, full of interesting
details.
Both of
them started their musical careers more than 30 years ago. In the 70’s Mapfumo
left his current repertoir of rock’n’roll covers and started singing about the
liberation struggle against colonialism, chimurenga. The word, meaning
struggle, was later also used as a name for Mapfumo’s musical style, where he
gave the traditional mbira (thumb piano) an important role, backed by modern
electronic instruments.
Swedish
SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency, www.sida.se) recently published the highly
interesting anthology Sounds Of Change, about the impact of music for social and
political change in Africa. The first contribution of the book is an article
describing the important roles that Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo play in
Zimbabwe’s political life.
Mapfumo,
whose social criticism is more open and direct, lives in exile in the USA since
the year 2000. His music is not officially prohibited in the public radio but
in reality it’s still banned – it simply is not being played.
Mtukudzi is
more subtle. Like so many other musicians living under dictatorship through
history, he expresses himself in metaphors and often avoids answering questions
about interpretations of his texts. Although recently he expressed strong
criticism against Mugabe’s party having used one of his songs, Totutuma (We Are
Boiling) and then also took the opportunity to directly criticize the
conditions in his country.
Mtukudzi’s
international career has blossomed in later years. He has toured the US
frequently, and his new record should open even more doors. All the things that
used to make his music good are still there, but the sound has been upgraded in
a very obvious way. The sound is more clear and distinct than ever – all
instruments have taken a step forward. Acoustic guitars, percussion, voices,
everything is crystal clear, both when it comes to arrangements and sound. And
the compositions are more varied. It simply sounds extremely good.
If you play
Mapfumo afterwards, you might first react to the sound being a bit flat and
muffled. Possibly caused by mp3-compression, but it can also be a result of production
and mixing. The instruments step back into the speakers again... except for the
horn section (and partly also the piano and the mbira) who will jump out now
and then. But this absolutely does not stop you from being hypnotized by that
flow. Mapfumo has a unique style, or rather mixture of styles.
Musically both records are real masterpieces, full of life and still so relaxed
that you feel brainwashed all the way down to your feet.
ANNIKA WESTMAN
Published
in Lira Magazine # 3/2005