Whilst many local musicians are adopting western musical sounds and shunning their own in a bid to ‘go international’, it is actually those embracing their culture and preserving it through their craft that are making it big on the global stage.
One such local group that has embraced its culture and is doing very well on the global stage is traditional music and dance ensemble, Pamuzinda.
Recently the ensemble headlined the 14th Afrika Festival in Birkenried, Germany.
Hailing from Harare’s prominent ghetto, Highfield, the versatile outfit is in Europe on a four month tour that will see them perform at thirty different venues Europe.
Zimbo Jam witnessed their performance at the Afrika Festival which was nothing short of proudly Zimbabwean flavour, laced with scintillating percussion, vocals and polished dances.
Comprising of young and middle-aged members, Pamuzinda was founded in 1990 and is based at Zimbabwe Hall in Highfield. It prides itself in their mastery of traditional instruments and music which is often shunned by the young.
Their music is a mixture of Zimbabwean traditional instruments such as mbira, marimba, drums, Cajon a Spanish drum and a guitar.
The group is fast becoming a household name on the European market as witnessed by its frequent bookings to perform.
At the Afrika Festival, the group serenaded the audience who joined in dance and sang along to songs throughout the concert and left them clamoring for more.
Pamuzinda joins a growing list of Zimbabwean groups that have managed to break through and attract a fan base internationally such as Mokoomba, Insingizi, and Iyasa.
Despite a lot of young Zimbabwean artists preferring foreign music style, they struggle to make a global appeal unlike those performing traditional music.
Shelton Shollah a UK based member of the group revealed that their first breakthrough to international fray came in 1994 when the group was invited to take part at the Maitisong Musical Festival which was held in Francistown in Botswana and from there they never looked back.
Shollah explained, “The music we play is a mixture of styles and fusion of music from different ethnic groups in Zimbabwe. The music is known as musambo wepasi, meaning ancient music / music for the earth. We also reflect a lot of Zimbabwean culture through quite a number of dances drawn from most parts of the country’s provinces and some from neighboring/regional countries.”
Apart from live performances, the group has studio projects to their name too.
To date, Pamuzinda has recorded three albums namely; ‘Rythmes from the Mountains of Africa’ done in Belgium in 1998, ‘Padare’ recorded in London in 2000 and their last offering ‘Padare 2’ was recorded in Zimbabwe in 2004.
Off stage, members of the group conduct different workshops and classes on traditional Zimbabwean music and dance.
Pamuzinda has successfully toured and performed in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Japan, Scotland, United Kingdom, the U.S.A. and Germany. In 2002 they were nominated for the National Arts Merit Award.
