admin
Mbongeni Msimanga and Ntombiyolwandle Ndlovu, Sunday Leisure Reporters
THREE years ago the all-female imbube group Nobuntu was an unknown entity, but today they have a respectable following thanks to their critically acclaimed debut album, Thina, which has resulted in them being awarded with a five-month tour to Europe — an honour that other music groups can only dream of.
Switzerland will be their first port of call. Listen to their music and you will not only agree that the European tour is a just reward for their enviable exertions — you will inevitably tap your feet. Melodious is the apt description of their acappella tunes.
The album has seen Nobuntu breaking down the barriers of region and patriarchy. First, they have proved that you don’t have to be from Harare to make it big and second, they have shredded the chauvinistic conviction that imbube is a man’s thing. Women can also do the isichathamiya genre and at times they are better at it and are well appreciated.
On stage, the youthful multi-talented troupe is full of energy and that has put them on firm ground in the showbiz scene.
Recently the imbube cast left villagers at Amagugu International Heritage Centre in Kezi asking for more.
In an interview with Sunday Leisure, one of the group members Duduzile Sibanda confirmed that the group will be touring Europe in two months’ time.
“We will be travelling around Europe and we are going to perform in Switzerland for the first time. We are also set to tour Germany, Austria and Czech Republic. Local people are not really consuming our music the way we want them to. Because of this, efforts are being made to market ourselves locally, we have just released a new single and we sent the video to All Media Platforms and the single is even playing on ZTV. We also hope to have more local gigs so as to market our music and be well known,” said Sibanda.
Sibanda said they are proud to have been the first female group to have broken new ground in the imbube genre.
“As female artistes we are breaking the barriers that imbube is a male genre. Imbube is music with a meaning and as females we are bringing a wider meaning in this genre of music for instance on issues of abuse, love and happiness. The issues cut across all societies. We believe that we have established a market outside the country because most of our performances that we are having are from outside the country compared to the performances that we are having locally. Consequently I can say we have established a market for ourselves internationally,” said Sibanda.
Nobuntu draws inspiration from Mahotela Queens, a South African all-female imbube group that has excelled since it was formed in 1964.
“Our inspiration is drawn from Mahotela Queens, a South African group that has excelled and survived the test of time. Our aim is taking Imbube internationally and we are happy that we are getting international tours. All of us come from the township and have a strong background in the arts industry. We have managed to fuse our talent and our unique music has earned us the opportunity to travel to most parts of Europe,” said Sibanda.
With language being an index of culture, Sibanda said communication with the international audience has not been a hurdle in their tours as fans were eager to learn about imbube music. Sibanda added that Nobuntu would not be where it is today were it not for the efforts of arts practitioner Dumisani Ramadu who is part of the Insingizi outfit.
She said: “Dumisani Ramadu has done a lot for us. We are forever grateful. Because of him Nobuntu is here to stay.”
Online Reporter