Chigiyo music is alive

Fred Zindi Music

LOVEMORE CHIKWIRI, an employee of the Commercial Bank of Zimbawe in charge of training, grew up in Kwekwe. He boasts of dancing to Chigiyo music during his prime years. He says he also got involved in the management of one famous band in Kwekwe, known as Zig-Zag. I met Mr Chikwiri two years ago and since then he has been asking me to write something about this band.

I had chosen to ignore him but the pressure to write about Zig-Zag Band has increased as I keep bumping into many Chigiyo fans, most of them from Kwekwe who ask me the same.

It seems this band has made a big impact on those who grew up in the Midlands.
So here we go:

Zig-Zag Band, of the “Gomo Ramasare” and “Mudzimu Mukuru” fame, was a well-known band in the Midlands.
It also made strong waves in Harare and Bulawayo as these two hit singles rocked the music charts in the 1990’s.

However, the band collapsed in 2003 when five of the original seven band members passed away.
The band, formed in 1982, popularised the Chigiyo type of music which has its roots in muchongoyo and katekwe forms of dance from Chimanimani and Dande respectively.

It is difficult to come up with a true definition of Chigiyo music, but this genre has caught on and people are happy to identify the fusion of reggae, muchongoyo and katekwe music as Chigiyo.

Chigiyo music is a reflection of Zimbabwean cultural norms and values through song, which actually summon the spiritual realm to the attention of the living — one of the reasons why many listeners easily relate to this music genre.

From the late 1980s until 2003, Zig-Zag Band shared the limelight together with living music greats such as superstar Oliver Mtukudzi and exiled Chimurenga guru Thomas Mapfumo.

Zig-Zag Band became a household name after the release of their hit, “Gomo Ramasare”, in 1987.
Other songs like “Mudzimu Mukuru”, “Bombiro” and “Mhondoro Dzinomwa Munasave” also saw the group widening its fan base before sinking into obscurity in 2005 after the release of “Chigiyo Vibes”.

Zig-Zag suffered a number of setbacks in the mid-90s and early 2000 when some of its key members died.
The legendary Emmanuel Nkomo, Stanley Phiri (a drummer), George Lunga and Robert Lunga are among those who passed away.

The band regrouped in 2011 with only three original members, to make up the eight-member band that recently launched a Chigiyo music album this year.
The surviving members are Isaac Phiri, Madison Phiri and Steven Lunga, who are now working together with a new outfit comprising Sunduzwayo Nyirenda, Nowel Kasirai, Julius Ziva, Raphael Chigumbu and Manfred Mahati as Zig-Zag band. Madison Phiri is the band manager.

The group was the main act at this year’s Kwekwe District independence celebrations held in Torwood, Kwekwe.
Although they have mainly restricted their performances to the Midlands area, plans for countrywide tours to promote their new album are currently underway.

The 10-track album “Harder than the Rock” features songs such as “Chauya Chigiyo”, “Harder than the Rock”, “Moses”, “Mweya Mutsvene”, “Ndomene”, “Panyika”, “Varoyi neMbavha”, “Vanga Vakarara”, “Tinokuyeuka” and “Vanodanana”.

Madison, who doubles as the band manager, said: “We promise our fans a rock solid album that carries the traditional Chigiyo sound. The album is lyrically and instrumentally rich.”

The dreadlocked musician said they are planning to relocate to Harare for marketing reasons.
Madison Phiri, also known as True Born Rasta (TBR), said the band is set to reclaim its lost glory despite having lost some of its critical members.

“As the title denotes, we are here to reclaim our lost pride. We are back better and harder than ever,” said TBR.
He said it has been a long time coming after they regrouped in 2011 as they have been taking their time to perfect their beat.

Prior to that the last recording of Chigiyo music, entitled “Chigiyo Vibes” was in 2005.
On why Chigiyo music had gone under since 2005, dreadlocked Steven Lunga said: “Zig-Zag does not move in a straight path so we had just turned on one of the corners into spiritual hibernation while grooming additional young members of the band so that they can turn professional and replace our late colleagues.”

Lunga also said that the band, although sticking to their original Chigiyo type of music, has now rebranded their approach in a bid to make the group more internationally acceptable.

“We still have what it takes to be at the top again. We have also started composing English songs so that we can have an international appeal.
“The album ‘Harder Than the Rock’ is one such step as we hope to reclaim the top spot on the music landscape,” Lunga said.

“Most of our songs are spiritual. Songs like ‘Mhondoro Dzinonwa Muna Save’ and ‘Bombiro’ have always been there and were used at spiritual gatherings to summon the spirits.

“It is this passion to keep our culture which makes us relevant to our society as a musical group,” Lunga said.
Chigiyo music, and indeed Zig-Zag Band, still has lots of followers who remember it from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.
I spoke to Joe Chiginya, one of the Chigiyo followers in the early 90s, and asked him to give me light on what was happening with Zig-Zag then.

“To be honest, I only attended one show in 1992 at Zisco Club. I was only 12 years old, but that show was so memorable that it made a huge impact on my life. I asked my father for $5 and went straight to the record shop to buy their record and since then I have bought their albums each time they release a new one. Although my record player has no stylus now, I still play their LPs whenever I get the chance. I am going to convert their albums into CDs in keeping with modern technology. Oh! I love Chigiyo music,” he quipped.

Indeed, Chigiyo music is still very relevant. It is far from dead.
Last year, Hebron Mashengwe, although not a member of the original Zig-Zag Band, but was inspired by the late Emmanuel Nkomo, came out with an album entitled “Chigiyo Chauya”.

He recorded this 11-track album at Monolio Studios with the assistance of Mono Mukundu.
Mashengwe wants to make sure that Chigiyo music will cross all the borders of Zimbabwe until it makes its mark on the international scene.
It is not that Chigiyo music has not already crossed the borders of Zimbabwe.

Former member of Zig-Zag Band Jones Mabhande has recently been busy spreading the fire of Chigiyo music in Botswana for nearly five years, from 2004 until 2008.
In his own words: “I played in Botswana from 2004 to 2008 with Ndingo Johwa, a big musician in that country, who plays Kalanga afro-jazz. I played drums and did the backing vocals. In July 2008, I came back home and began working on the Usimbe project,” said Mabhande.

“In this project, I was assisted by my friends, Costa Chuma and Patrick Mbewe among others, who played the instruments while my wife did the backing vocals. I also have done a video of the title track, ‘Usimbe’, I’m also currently doing live shows in Harare.”

Mabhande said he has stuck to the original Zig-Zag Band’s Chigiyo sound which includes a mix of guitars, keyboards and horns but with slight modifications.
“I’ve added a female voice to the sound, something which did not exist in the original band,” said Mabhande. “Introducing a female voice will help to add a new flavour to the sound.”

The eight-member crew of the new Zig-Zag Band led by founder Steven Lunga is hoping that the album will follow the success of its eight predecessor albums that the group produced to great critical acclaim and to the pride of Kwekwe.

“Scores of fans out there have expressed keen interest in seeing us live on stage. We are not ignoring that reality and plans are in the pipeline,” Isaac Phiri said.
Well, Mr Chikwiri, I expect no more pressure from you. I have done my part. No more beating about the bush. This is how Zig-Zag goes.