adminAuxilia Katongomara Entertainment Reporter
BULAWAYO’S rising all-female imbube outfit Nobuntu will perform at the International Women’s Day concert at the Book Café in Harare today. The five-member ensemble which has revived the flickering imbube music genre will be sharing the stage with afro-jazz artistes Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana and Rute Mbangwa. Group leader, Duduzile Sibanda said her group was ready for the Harare show.
“This will be our first time performing in Harare and we are not sure how the audience will respond to our music. We are optimistic though that they will love and appreciate our music,” Sibanda said.
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made towards women’s empowerment, and a time to call for change where women are disadvantaged.
The special day also presents a platform to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
As for Nobuntu, it will be a celebration of both an act of courage and determination as the first female group to take up imbube music, a genre which is traditionally a preserve for men.
Sibanda said they decided to take up the music genre after they realised that there was no female imbube group in Bulawayo and in the country.
“We realised that the genre we are doing, imbube, is not common for women. We then decided to sing imbube and have something that is challenging,” she said.
She said Nobuntu drew its inspiration from groups such as South African mbaqanga group, Mahotela Queens.
“Our inspiration is drawn from Mahotela Queens and Mahlathini. Those women are powerful and their mbaqanga music is Afrocentric, timeless and we want to emulate these ladies”.
Nobuntu was formed in 2011 and launched its first album Thina in 2013. The talented vocalists Duduzile Sibanda, Siphiwe Dube, Claire Ratidzo Dangarembwa, Joyline Sibanda and Heather Dube specialise in various genres that include gospel, jazz, reggae, traditional, folk and soul.
The group is slowly taking their music to different audiences as they had their maiden tour to Europe last year.
Online Reporter