Headfirst Editor's Pick
"The legacy of Tanzania’s Real World Records giant Hukwe Zawose continues in electrifying fashion with Zawose Queens. His daughter and granddaughter meld soaring dual vocals, lilting thumb piano, clattering ngoma drums and hypnotic chizeze fiddle with gurgling synths and thuds of global bass. It’s a joyous and exuberant discovery FFO: Remmy Ongala, Tarika, Stella Chiweshe, Onipa."
Join the Headfirst mailing list for our unbiased recommendations.
A gig held at The Jam Jar on Thursday 28th November. The event starts at 20:00.
There is spirit and fire in the music of The Zawose Queens. There's the vibrations of the ancestors, coming through on traditional instruments — soaring chizeze fiddle, buzzing illimba thumb piano, ngoma drums that chatter and thunder — and voices that go deep, high and out there. There's the connection to nature, to ceremony and ritual, in their dance-inspired fusion, their blend of the organic, harmonic and modern-day electronic. There are lyrics that tell, in their native kigogo, of the passion for music, the wonders of life. Of pride in environment, in tradition. In their East African roots.
The Jam Jar Presents
Zawose Queens
+ Hélélé
Thursday 28th November
Doors Open 7.30pm
At The Jam Jar, Bristol
ZAWOSE QUEENS (cont.)
Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania.
The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose (Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).
Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first time that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. Emboldened by workshops in songwriting and music production with visiting UK-based producers Oli Barton-Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), The Zawose Queens began writing their first ever songs. The resulting collection of songs range from the stripped back and traditional-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic elements, with beats and drops and found sounds and switch-ups.
HÉLÉLÉ
Inspired by the rhythms of the Bantu Forest of West Africa, Alphonse Daudet Touna from Cameroon formed the band to ‘enrich and share his music with the world’. At an early age, he started playing the drums at traditional village ceremonies where he developed his talent as a composer, performer and teacher. The haunting vocals, sung in his own tribal language ‘Bassa’, send messages of peace and hope. Alphonse plays the balafon (African marimba) he made himself – adding an exotic and original sound to the music. With influences from Makossa to Bikutsi – the grooves are guaranteed to exhilarate audiences. The band – composed of some of Bristol’s finest session musicians, has headlined at festivals and major venues across the UK and supported well known artists such as Hugh Masekela and Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club. Performances include Glastonbury (Jazz Lounge), Shambala, Marlborough Jazz Festival and London’s South Bank Centre.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
The Jam Jar Presents
Zawose Queens
+ Hélélé
Thursday 28th November
Doors Open 7.30pm
At The Jam Jar, Bristol
ZAWOSE QUEENS (cont.)
Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania.
The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose (Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).
Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first time that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. Emboldened by workshops in songwriting and music production with visiting UK-based producers Oli Barton-Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), The Zawose Queens began writing their first ever songs. The resulting collection of songs range from the stripped back and traditional-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic elements, with beats and drops and found sounds and switch-ups.
HÉLÉLÉ
Inspired by the rhythms of the Bantu Forest of West Africa, Alphonse Daudet Touna from Cameroon formed the band to ‘enrich and share his music with the world’. At an early age, he started playing the drums at traditional village ceremonies where he developed his talent as a composer, performer and teacher. The haunting vocals, sung in his own tribal language ‘Bassa’, send messages of peace and hope. Alphonse plays the balafon (African marimba) he made himself – adding an exotic and original sound to the music. With influences from Makossa to Bikutsi – the grooves are guaranteed to exhilarate audiences. The band – composed of some of Bristol’s finest session musicians, has headlined at festivals and major venues across the UK and supported well known artists such as Hugh Masekela and Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club. Performances include Glastonbury (Jazz Lounge), Shambala, Marlborough Jazz Festival and London’s South Bank Centre.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
Other electronic gigs
