The Herald (Harare)

Zimbabwe: Mbare Choir Unleashes 10-Track Chimurenga Album

Harare — Mbare Chimurenga Choir, an all-female outfit, has released a 10-track album titled Nyatsoteerera.

The album was recorded at Gramma Records and produced by Amos Mahendere, the lead singer of the famed Mahendere Brothers.

Elizabeth Madzimure Bwanya, one of the group members, said the album was perfected over a long time.

"We have been practising for a long time now just hoping one day the heavens would open up and they did well on time.

"Comrade Webster Shamu heard us a couple of times at congresses and conferences and we were introduced to Amos Mahendere who patiently worked with us until the release of the album last week," she said.

A political commissar during the war, Cde Bwanya is not new to working with people and mobilising members to record the album was not a problem.

The album is a celebration of the gains of the liberation struggle in which people sacrificed their lives for the betterment of the black majority.

Besides Chimurenga beats, the album also features a fusion of Jiti and sing-along choruses that make it endearing.

Some of the tracks on the album include Team, Kuita kwaPresident, the title track and Zanu-PF to mention a few.

Mbare Choir composed all songs while the executive producer is Cde Webster Shamu.

The choir is made up of 109 women most of them under 40, plus five men who play instruments.

Bwanya thanked Cde Shamu for his encouragement and urged women from other provinces to emulate Mbare Choir.

