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Bulawayo Kwela

Lovemore Meya Arts Correspondent
Pennywhistle masters Bulawayo Kwela Calabash and dup poet, Albert Nyathi will this Friday launch their eight-track album titled “Umoya/The Wind” at Alliance Francaise.
The show will be graced by award-winning group, Mokoomba, which is expected to spice the event.
The album was initially scheduled to be launched in Europe but Nyathi said they faced logistical challenges and decided to launch it here first.

“Time was not on our side and we are going to launch it here at a joint show with Mokoomba.
“As you all know that ‘charity begins at home’.

Plans are still afoot for us to launch it in France next year,” he said.
Nyathi promised nothing short of fireworks and called upon entertainment enthusiasts to come in numbers.

“We are looking forward to an amazing show with the guys who trained themselves to play their stuff. We are not talking of computers here, but skills and development,” said Nyathi.

The launch is sponsored by Alliance Francaise director, Charles Houdart who said it was honour to have the group perform at his venue.
“I invited them (Kwela Calabash) for the first time to perform at Alliance Francaise in 2010 and I really loved their music which I felt was very enjoyable.

“I thought this type of music was not being promoted in Zimbabwe since promoters are not having space for the music from the 50s and 60s to the late 70s.
“I realised that people are really enjoying this type of music and love it so I decided to support this initiative from Albert Nyathi,” said Houdart.

He said they invited a French music producer, Antoine Rajon from Paris who came to Harare in 2012 to spend three days in studio with Bulawayo Kwela Calabash and recorded the superb album.

“They took three to four days in studio to produce this beautiful album which is ready and recorded in professional condition with the mixing and mastering in France.  We are going to launch it in Harare with Kwela group scheduled to perform along with Mokoomba,” he said.

Houdart said the launch will coincide with the celebration of the return of Mokoomba.
“It is going to be a homecoming concert for Mokoomba after their return from Europe and we are expecting more people to come for this big party. With two generations of musicians from the country and equally talented we are expecting a big event. We hope that they will perform a song together ,” he said

Nyathi brought the band together sometime in the year 2000 after he fell in love with their music when they exhibited immense talent during their shows held in beer gardens in Bulawayo.

The group’s unique sound punctuated by pennywhistles stole the hearts of many when they performed at the Harare International Festival of the Arts.