A longstanding supporter and friend, Janet Wood, has recently completed a new collaborative project with Umdumo Wesizwe, a group of 10 young-men from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
We’re hoping the CD will be available soon, but in the meantime here’s Janet to tell you more about the project…
Umdumo Wesizwe sing a cappella songs and also dance. Their music is rooted in the imbube vocal music (also called iscathamiya) of southern Africa, traditionally sung by miners, but their version is infused with more diverse and modern styles (reggae, hiphop, kwaito, gospel etc.) and they call what they do gusheshe music. They sing in both English and Ndebele.
I met them in Sheffield during their first UK tour in October 2007, when we were involved in a choral performance called Poverty Requiem - I was one of the soloists and they had been drafted in to swell the choir. Enthused by their energy and the power of their music, I went along to one of their performances and shared some of my own songs with them. We kept in touch and when they returned to the UK for a further tour in 2008 we began exploring ways in which we might work together.
I worked initially with the leader of the group, Mqoqi Nkomo. We began by taking one of each other’s songs and adding something of our own to it - these are the first two tracks on the CD. We then introduced our ideas to the rest of the group and rehearsed together, which was very exciting. From then on we would each come up with the germ of an idea and then the other would work on it - we’d then put it together and then try it out on the group, many of whom would then add their own ideas.
In a couple of the songs I sing in Ndebele - I am now learning the language and really enjoying it. I’d like to get to the point where I can write a whole song in their language.
At the end of their 2008 stay we managed to record six songs at Wavelength Records in Doncaster and are producing a CD of the project called Together - Thina Sisonke.
I feel the project is unique and exciting in many ways. On the face of it we could not be more different - a white, middle-aged, British woman and ten young black Zimbabwean men. Add to that the difficult history of our two countries and you have an interesting mix! But we are united in our mutual respect, our passion for music and the power that comes from singing from the heart.
Visit Umdumo Wesizwe online at www.umdumowesizwe.com.
If you’d like to be notified when Together - Thina Sisonke becomes available, please email helpdesk@musoswire.com, and we’ll make sure you know almost as soon as we do!
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