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Mbulelo Mpofu, [email protected]
THEY may surely be the country’s best-kept secret, emerging from the tourist city of Victoria Falls to conquer lands afar.
Mokoomba, a talented sextet continues to soar the country’s flag high.
Last month, the band took their sound to the UK where they performed at the Jazz Cafe in London, Howard Assembly Room in Leeds, The Apex in Bury St Edmunds, Womad in Malmesbury as well as The Cornish Bank in Falmouth.
Abundance Mutori, who is the band’s bassist and spokesperson, told Chronicle Showbiz that the tour was a fulfilling one.
“The tour was amazing. We had many highlights. All the concerts went really well and the reception to our shows and music was really awesome. Our major highlight was performing again at Womad (World of Music, Arts and Dance) Festival in the UK to a massive, dancing crowd and also at Globaltica Festival in Poland.
“In the UK, we also hosted our own concerts in great venues like Jazz Cafe in London, the Howard Room in Leeds, and The Apex in Bury St Edmunds which were sold out.
“We also had a really good time at our first concert of the tour in Scharnstein, Austria where the organisers have a long history with Zimbabwe having worked with communities in Binga,” Mutori said.
Last week, the group was in Cape Town. Now, they are preparing to resume local shows. Mokoomba is no fluke, but years of honing their craft and globetrotting have led them to the promised land.
Their musical excellence has led them to be at the top of their game, even chart-topping European billboards.
The band recently released their first self-produced LP, “Tusona” with songs such as Tamvela Mama, Ndipe, Kulindiswe, and Makolo further expressing the band’s unique sound of rockish and jazzish blend as well as their tight harmonies.
In an infographic released by World Music Charts Europe, Mokoomba is second with “Tusona” behind Cuba’s Omara Portuondo at the helm. Such recognition, especially on distant shores, shows Mokoomba’s musical pedigree. —@MbuleloMpofu
Online Reporter