Mtukudzi, Mapfumo agree history-making UK tour

Mtukudzi, Mapfumo agree history-making UK tour

PERFORMER: Mtukudzi and marimba player Charles Chipanga on a recent UK tour

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By Showbiz Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN music concerts do not come as big as the blockbuster double act between Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo announced for Easter 2008.

It will only be the second time in eight years that the two iconic artists have shared the stage after a double act at London’s Barbican Centre in March 2000.

The deal to bring the two artists to the UK was struck with promotion company, Zimtownship which is marking its 6th anniversary in the business.
The tour, dubbed The Legends of Zimbabwe UK Tour, will comprise four concerts, covering Ireland, Scotland and England, starting on March 20.

Mtukudzi and Mapfumo once belonged to the same band, Wagon Wheels, between 1977 and 1979 when they produced ‘Dzandimomotera’ which went on to sell Gold, before Mtukudzi pursued a solo career.

Zimtownship spokesman Fungwa Mawarire said: “Tuku and Mkanya’s combined albums will be in excess of 81; and the combined songs will be in excess of 700, therefore the play list for any night can never be predicted.

“This is a-once-in-a-lifetime event that every Zimbabwean-music loving person must not miss. We invite all music lovers, inside and outside of the UK to come and share this moment with us and witness Samanyanga and Mkanya do on the same stage what they have been doing for over three decades.”

Mapfumo, affectionately known as Mukanya, is credited as the father of Chimurenga music – a genre detailing the struggles of the people from the pre-independence era. His music style blends classic Shona township sounds with western rock and uses lyrics full of ambiguity and traditional proverbs.

The message in his music is usually for the socially and politically conscious yet it is always presented in a joyous and celebratory manner inherent in his swaying choruses, lilting rhythms and hip-moving grooves.

Mtukudzi, known simply by his fans as Tuku, is a prolific song writer and guitarist whose music has been sampled by top American producer, Timbaland. His deep, husky voice stands out over the sound of his acoustic guitar.

Tuku has developed his own music style which includes a fusion of his gospel roots, traditional Shona sounds and rhythms, South African mbaqanga, the energetic Zimbabwean pop style jiti and the traditional kateke drumming of his clan, the Korekore. This distinctive sound is known to his worldwide audience simply as Tukumusic.

Zimtownship said in a statement that advance tickets and dates for the tour would be available from January 21.
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