Exuberant youthful energy bursting with natural talent and contagious rhythm, the six young musicians which make up Mokoomba are Zimbabwe's next generation of hope. Their story is one of diversity and perseverance.
Mokoomba hails from the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, popular for its natural beauty, the Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya) and the world's largest bungee jump -- but not much more is generally known about the people and their culture.
The region is home to the Tonga people who are one of the country's minority groups. Most of the members of Mokoomba speak Tonga, which is not understood by the majority who speaks Ndebele and Shona. Despite coming from one of Zimbabwe's rural areas, singing in a language foreign to even their countrymen, Mokoomba have never been deterred from their dream of making music.
Musically distinct, Mokoomba combines traditional and modern instruments with a rich blend of rhythms, creating a vibrant sound consisting of not only traditional Tonga music but embracing the diverse cultures of southern Africa. Their unique style largely originates from lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza.
Born to Angolan and Zambian parents, Mathias has spent his life travelling around southern Africa, absorbing its music heritage into his repertoire. Fellow band members call him a walking, talking (but mostly singing) music library of southern African song -- "Languages have always come naturally, I now speak 7," says Muzaza with a humble smile. "Wherever I go I want to learn the songs of the people I meet, it gives me inspiration and joy."
The name Mokoomba stems from a deep respect that the Tonga people have for the Zambezi River and for the vibrant life that it brings to their music and culture. Formed in 2007, the group entered their first Music Crossroads Festival the same year in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and went on to blow audiences away at the National Festival held in Harare. They went on to represent Zimbabwe at Music Crossroads InterRegional Festival (IRF) where competition was fierce, with top up and coming groups from Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all jostling for the chance to win a European tour, an album recording, and much more. The IRF jury members chose Mokoomba, seeing not only great talent but great potential too. This victory gave Mokoomba the chance to bring their electrifying mix of Afro-fusion energy and tantalizing traditional Tonga beats to stages across the world.
The following year Mokoomba released their debut album, Kweseka (Drifting Ahead), which was launched together with their European tour in 2009. Sights were set high for the six-track album, which was produced by Music Crossroads with the help of a Belgium company Zig Zag World, in Harare at Thulani Studios, and mixed in Brussels with sound engineer Marco Gudanski. The album showcases their dynamically youthful style, perfect for igniting any dancefloor together with more serene R&B tracks that draw out the beauty of Muzaza's voice coupled with a stronger instrumental focus. The songs "Misozi" and "Mzumba" became local hits and had Harare audiences grooving at the HIFA Festival 2009 and at the Music Crossroads Zimbabwe National Festival. Mokoomba's songs relate to social ills, the HIV pandemic, love, and Zimbabwean life, reflecting a nation determined never to give up hope.
Their first European tour in October-November 2009 created a big buzz in Stockholm, Oslo, Bilbao, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Brussels. During this tour they collaborated with the famous Dutch DJ Gregor Salto, known for his funky sets with a lot of soul, Latin, jazz, disco and Afro-flavored House, for the "Stand Up Take Action -- End Poverty Campaign" initiated by Africa Unsigned. This led to the recording of the track "Messe Messe" and several other remixes.
In 2009-2010, the Belgian company Iota Production released a beautiful 50-minute documentary, Mokoomba, from one riverbank to another, produced by Frank Dalmat and François Ducat, that recounts the various episodes of joy, disillusions, difficulties, and success of this young band coming for the first time to Europe.
Mokoomba came back in 2010 for a European tour where they performed on prestigious stages all over the continent; they were the opening act for Rhe Cranberries at the Colors Festival in Ostrava (Czech Rep.), Couleur Café festival in Brussels (Belgium), Meyouzik festival (Luxembourg), Pirineos Sur festival (Spain), Afrikafestival in Hertme (The Netherlands), Etnomusic festival (San Marino), and many more. During 2010 and 2011, between Harare and Brussels, they recorded their 2nd album, Rising Tide, produced by the great Ivorian bass player and singer Manou Gallo.
Rising Tide was released in April 2012 and received rave reviews. It was nominated as one of the "best albums of the year" in no less than 30 radio stations, magazines, and newspapers, including "Top world music album" in the Guardian, "Top of the world album" in Songlines, and "One of the 10 best album of the year," in fROOTS.
Their third and fourth European tours in summer and autumn 2012 included a performance in the renowned BBC live show Later... with Jools Holland and a showcase at WOMEX where journalist Thorsten Bednarz (Deutschlandradio Kultur) said, "I've seen the future of Afrosound and it is called Mokoomba." 2013 began with the prestigious Songlines Music Award (UK) as "Best Newcomer," which Mokoomba received in December 2013 at the Barbican with the three others winners, Angélique Kidjo, Lo'Jo, and Dub Colossus. The year continued with astonishing press articles like the one in The Guardian feting Mokoomba as "Africa's most internationally successful young band after a rise that is as deserved as it has been remarkable."
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OH 037CD
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Five years after the release of Luyando, Zimbabwe's most celebrated music export returns with their long-awaited follow-up album, Tusona: Tracings in the Sand. The six musicians from Victoria Falls are refining their unique sound: infectious Afro grooves deeply connected to Zimbabwe's cultural DNA. Tusana is their most danceable album to date, a DIY production recorded during the pandemic in Zimbabwe. It features horns by Ghanaian highlife outfit Santrofi. Every Sunday, there is a gathering in the sweltering heat on grounds of an old local beer hall in the Chinotimba township in Mosi-o-Tunya (Victoria Falls). Entertainment is provided by various traditional groups including the Luvale Makisi masquerade. It is a day full of singing, drumming, dancing and storytelling. Mokoomba's lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza can often be found here singing with a voice both soaring and vulnerable. In the course of the afternoon the other band members -- guitarist Trustworth Samende, bass player Abundance Mutori, keyboard player Phathisani Moyo, percussionist Miti Mugande, and drummer Ndaba Coster Moyo -- often join in with singing. The collective from Zimbabwe put in all the experiences made over the previous years and have forged their music into a unique Zimbabwean sound. On the album Mokoomba are singing about love, loss, courage in a changing society. The first single "Nzara Hapana" is a song about a man who wants to ensure the future of his wife and family and is trying to protect them against the greed of his relatives. The danceable up-tempo song "Nyansola" praises the goddess of harvest and asks her for rain. "Makisi" is sung in Luvale and it celebrates the beauty of the initiation ceremony for which the whole community comes together. "Manina" is a song about losing a loved one. Mokoomba sing in many different local languages. Their songs are in Tonga, Luvale, Shona, Nyanja and even Lingala used in "Makolo" when they team up with Congolese singer Desolo B. Tusona refers to an ancient system of signs and symbols, drawn in the sand and used for instruction during initiation ceremonies by the Luvale in Southern Africa. Another important part of the Mukanda initiation ceremony is the incredible Makisi masquerade. The Makisi are masked characters, representing the spirit of deceased ancestors. During the yearly initiation ceremony, the Makisi return to the living world to teach the young children to become responsible adults among the Lubale people of Southern Africa. It is the connection with the cultures around them that gives Mokoomba's music its spiritual power.
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LP version. Includes download code (includes CD bonus tracks). Five years after the release of Luyando, Zimbabwe's most celebrated music export returns with their long-awaited follow-up album, Tusona: Tracings in the Sand. The six musicians from Victoria Falls are refining their unique sound: infectious Afro grooves deeply connected to Zimbabwe's cultural DNA. Tusana is their most danceable album to date, a DIY production recorded during the pandemic in Zimbabwe. It features horns by Ghanaian highlife outfit Santrofi. Every Sunday, there is a gathering in the sweltering heat on grounds of an old local beer hall in the Chinotimba township in Mosi-o-Tunya (Victoria Falls). Entertainment is provided by various traditional groups including the Luvale Makisi masquerade. It is a day full of singing, drumming, dancing and storytelling. Mokoomba's lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza can often be found here singing with a voice both soaring and vulnerable. In the course of the afternoon the other band members -- guitarist Trustworth Samende, bass player Abundance Mutori, keyboard player Phathisani Moyo, percussionist Miti Mugande, and drummer Ndaba Coster Moyo -- often join in with singing. The collective from Zimbabwe put in all the experiences made over the previous years and have forged their music into a unique Zimbabwean sound. On the album Mokoomba are singing about love, loss, courage in a changing society. The first single "Nzara Hapana" is a song about a man who wants to ensure the future of his wife and family and is trying to protect them against the greed of his relatives. The danceable up-tempo song "Nyansola" praises the goddess of harvest and asks her for rain. "Makisi" is sung in Luvale and it celebrates the beauty of the initiation ceremony for which the whole community comes together. "Manina" is a song about losing a loved one. Mokoomba sing in many different local languages. Their songs are in Tonga, Luvale, Shona, Nyanja and even Lingala used in "Makolo" when they team up with Congolese singer Desolo B. Tusona refers to an ancient system of signs and symbols, drawn in the sand and used for instruction during initiation ceremonies by the Luvale in Southern Africa. Another important part of the Mukanda initiation ceremony is the incredible Makisi masquerade. The Makisi are masked characters, representing the spirit of deceased ancestors. During the yearly initiation ceremony, the Makisi return to the living world to teach the young children to become responsible adults among the Lubale people of Southern Africa. It is the connection with the cultures around them that gives Mokoomba's music its spiritual power.
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OH 030LP
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LP version. Includes a booklet and a download code. Luyando means "mother's love" in Tonga, a language that is spoken by the first inhabitants of the Zambezi Valley of Southern Africa. But beyond the word, Luyando goes to the heart of Mokoomba's music. Lyrical and beautifully breezy, Luyando is a spiritual journey into the heart of Zimbabwean society, culture, and tradition. On Luyando, Mokoomba modified their rock-band oriented line-up to record a more raw, acoustic album. The songs are rooted in the local traditions and life in their hometown of Victoria Falls, a town on the Zambezi River, named after the Victoria Falls. When the band first hit the music scene their blend of traditional rhythms and contemporary Zimrock took the country by storm. Mokoomba brought a unique flavor to a scene that was dominated by sungura, reggae, and dancehall, urban and Afro jazz bands. On Luyando, Mokoomba dig even deeper into their heritage: Luyando takes the listener back into the past to a vanishing world of traditions that used to be at the heart of Tonga and Luvale society, their customs, rituals, and even day-to-day life. There are the cautionary and instructive tracks like, "Njawane", which advises young hunters of how to act when faced with a dangerous lion. The haunting "Kumukanda" is inspired by a Tonga initiation ceremony and "Mabemba" speaks about the values of the Tonga people. The lighter, and more playful "Nyaradzo" is a song of cheeky courtship and "Kulindiswe" is a personal lament on the hardships of band life. Victoria Falls, a meeting point of a multitude of traditions, is the main inspiration for the lead singer and composer, Mathias Muzaza. While Tonga dominates as a language of composition and the native language of most members of the group, the songs are sung in at least three other languages: Shona, Luvale, and Ndebele. Most members of the group are ethnically Tonga one of Zimbabwe's (and Zambia's) smallest ethnic groups. The history of the Tonga is crucial to Luyando and central to the project is Kambowa the song that speaks of a key moment of Tonga history, the traumatic displacement of the Tonga from their ancestral lands in 1955 to make way for the Kariba dam. At present, Zimbabwe is in a state of economic turbulence and political uncertainty. Luyando is, in its own small way, a place where everyone who aspires for better is welcome.
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OH 030CD
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Luyando means "mother's love" in Tonga, a language that is spoken by the first inhabitants of the Zambezi Valley of Southern Africa. But beyond the word, Luyando goes to the heart of Mokoomba's music. Lyrical and beautifully breezy, Luyando is a spiritual journey into the heart of Zimbabwean society, culture, and tradition. On Luyando, Mokoomba modified their rock-band oriented line-up to record a more raw, acoustic album. The songs are rooted in the local traditions and life in their hometown of Victoria Falls, a town on the Zambezi River, named after the Victoria Falls. When the band first hit the music scene their blend of traditional rhythms and contemporary Zimrock took the country by storm. Mokoomba brought a unique flavor to a scene that was dominated by sungura, reggae, and dancehall, urban and Afro jazz bands. On Luyando, Mokoomba dig even deeper into their heritage: Luyando takes the listener back into the past to a vanishing world of traditions that used to be at the heart of Tonga and Luvale society, their customs, rituals, and even day-to-day life. There are the cautionary and instructive tracks like, "Njawane", which advises young hunters of how to act when faced with a dangerous lion. The haunting "Kumukanda" is inspired by a Tonga initiation ceremony and "Mabemba" speaks about the values of the Tonga people. The lighter, and more playful "Nyaradzo" is a song of cheeky courtship and "Kulindiswe" is a personal lament on the hardships of band life. Victoria Falls, a meeting point of a multitude of traditions, is the main inspiration for the lead singer and composer, Mathias Muzaza. While Tonga dominates as a language of composition and the native language of most members of the group, the songs are sung in at least three other languages: Shona, Luvale, and Ndebele. Most members of the group are ethnically Tonga one of Zimbabwe's (and Zambia's) smallest ethnic groups. The history of the Tonga is crucial to Luyando and central to the project is Kambowa the song that speaks of a key moment of Tonga history, the traumatic displacement of the Tonga from their ancestral lands in 1955 to make way for the Kariba dam. At present, Zimbabwe is in a state of economic turbulence and political uncertainty. Luyando is, in its own small way, a place where everyone who aspires for better is welcome.
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