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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Entertainment Editor
Theirs is a typical case of a prophet having no honour in his own neighbourhood! They have pure talent. They have mastered the art of music. Outside Zimbabwe, they are celebrated and revered for their work.
But as fate would have it, there is no much hype about them back home.
In Europe their shows are sold out and yet back home, they attract a paltry crowd. Such is the grotesque characterisation of Mokoomba.
Not much is said or written about them in the local media, but this doesn’t stop them from continuing releasing music, let alone touring.
So magical, so fascinating, although empty blue.
This is how best to aptly describe Mokoomba.
Last Saturday they held a show dubbed, ‘Live at Reps Theatre” and they were a marvel to watch.
Without a doubt, the Victoria Falls-based boys band Mokoomba put up a scintillating performance supported by Iyana who was the opening act.
Iyana is a project that was created by Mokoomba guitarists Trust Samende and Qeqeshiwe Mntambo.
Their music is a celebration of traditional Ndebele music and they added their twist inspired by contemporary sounds and urban stories.
It is also a project that celebrates the inclusion of women artistes on stage.
The group is completed by Mary Anibal, Rindai Makoshori, Amanda Gwaba, and Ndomupei Chipendo.
For today, the story is on Mokoomba, although the energetic Iyana group did not disappoint.
For those who know about Reps Theatre in Belgravia, Harare it is about 450 seater auditorium, if am not mistaken.
This time around, with the followers, fans, and even minions of Mokoomba, it somehow became too small.
There was an assortment of fans from Europeans, Chinese, and Africans (locals, Nigerians and South Africans) who came to watch the hour and half-long performance.
Just like they do it on their foreign tours, the first segment was about the acoustic acapella then the last segment was the afro-fusion stunt.
Of course, in the first segment, they wanted to make sure their fans understand and know that they all can sing.
Some still wonder how many vocal qualities — octaves does their lead singer Mathias Muzaza have?
Pure and raw talent it is!
Then there is Trustworth Samende (lead guitarist), Abundance Mutori (bassist), Phatisani Moyo (keyboard player), Ndaba Coster Moyo (drummer), and Miti Mugande (percussions).
Everything was synchronised and the music flowed deep into the veins of the listener.
Their professionalism and coordination leave many questions on everyone’s lips as to why then are they not much respected or appreciated.
Their combination of traditional and modern instruments and a variety of international pop and pan-African styles — including soukous, funk, and reggae — to bring together different cultures from Southern, East, and Central Africa, makes them superior and unique.
How come they hold few shows locally?
Because of their versatility in languages such as English, Luvale, Tonga, Nyanja, Ndebele, and Shona, this should be a good start to dominate locally.
Yes, accommodating everyone. They have released three albums so far in 10 years of formation and the group is currently signed to the Afrocentric German record label, ‘Outhere Records’.
Top of the show was when they premiered their music video — ‘Makisi’, shot by award-winning Vusa Blaqs.
No doubt about it as the video has richness and pure African roots written all over.
Speaking at the sidelines of the show, Mokoomba spokesperson, Abundance Mutori said all those questions being asked are what makes them unique.
He said it is a special tactic as the group should not be overexposed.
“We do an average of five concerts in Harare and we also perform in Bulawayo, Mutare, and in Victoria Falls,” he said.
“We intend to increase the number of local concerts that we do so that more people can see our live performance but we also have to be careful not to overexpose the act to the same audience.”
Mutori confirmed that they have only three albums in 10 years of formation.
“We released our first professional album titled ‘Rising Tide’ in 2012, produced by Manou Gallo, a bassist from Ivory Coast. Before that, we released a demo album titled ‘Kweseka’ (Drifting Ahead) in 2009 as part of our prize for winning the Music Crossroads competition.
In 2017 we release our acoustic album titled ‘Luyando’ which means “Love” in Tonga,” he said.
“The gaps between the albums are because we have had a very busy schedule in the past 10 years, touring more than 40 counties around the world and this made it difficult to settle and focus on recordings. We also wanted to establish more local airplay, something that is now happening a bit more as we are growing.”
At the show, they played 12 songs from their recorded projects.
“We performed some of the crowd’s favourites and highlight songs were “Munaye” and “Nyasola”,” said Mutori.
“The song Munaye was written by our lead singer Mathias Muzaza to celebrate his parents who both passed away while we were traveling on tour in 2014. The song “Nyasola” is a prayer for good harvests and blessings and is now an audience favourite.”
The bassist said they are working on remixes for songs on their new album.
“We have also started recording tracks that will be included in our follow-up project, details of which we will be announced in due course.”
Commenting on their new video, ‘Makisi’, Mutori said; “We were inspired to do the song Makisi to showcase the richness and the diversity of the cultures that are found inside of Zimbabwe,”.
“We grew up seeing and fascinated by the Makishi Masquerade and also other Masquerade traditions like “Nyau”. We want to encourage people to have a deeper understanding of our traditions and how they can be useful as we navigate our lives today through good times and bad,” he said.
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