Talented Afro Jazz band, Ditswi, seeks to represent cultural diversity in Zimbabwe through their music.The five-member band which was formed in 2013 has performed at the Alliance Francaise’s World Music Day celebrations, Bulawayo International Art Fair as well as in hotels and local joints in Bulawayo.
Ditswi is working on a debut album titled ‘Lwendo’ translated as Journey. The album is based on a journey the band is experiencing musically.
The band comprises of young and vibrant members from different Zimbabwean ethnic groups. The members include Lennon Tauro, on bass, recorder and pan flute, Blessing Sikhosana on keyboards and percussion, Ray ‘Millagre’ Langa on drums, Peter Chintedza on first keys, and Patience Tauro on lead vocals and hosho (shakers).
“The name of the band is called Ditswi. The band name is coined from the Chopi term meaning, the voice. Chopi is actually a dialect spoken in the Southern part of Mozambique. The type of music that the group plays is Afro fusion jazz,” Ray said.
Ditswi focuses on a number of thematic areas that encompass social life with a focal point on rights of varied vulnerable groups like women, children, and people with disability, the elderly and migrants.
The band fuses a multiplicity of genres which include Zimbabwe’s traditional jit, marrabenta feel from Mozambique, reggae, samba, and elements of mbalax and rhumba. It also fuses instruments like guitars, keyboards, marimba, flute and drums.
Ditswi’s ethnic diversity is evident in the languages it uses in its music. The band makes use of languages like Chopi, Shona, Ndebele, Nyanja, Nambya, Kalanga, Shangaan, English, and Bemba.
The band says it will advance to other languages spoken in Africa and other parts of the world in the near future.
Social issues such as love and unity of purpose are also addressed by the band. They make use of idiomatic expressions in their music so as to bring out clear messages.
“Ditswi uses a form of musical arrangement known as ‘Rubato’ characterised by changes in tempo and rhythm. For us music is more of a vocation, we aspire to be the voice of the voiceless by using music as an advocacy tool”, Patience said.
In this analogy Ditswi seeks to provide edutainment, that is educative entertainment.
The band will perform on October 1 at the Bayethe Concert during the Intwasa Arts Festival in Bulawayo. They will share the stage with renowned local artists like Sandra Ndebele, IYASA, Ndux Junior, and Guluva 7.
