THANDA & DA IMANI TRODDAZ and JOHN PFUMOJENA & MNANDI

 

This Thursday 27 August, The Book Café proudly presents a double bill of two hot young acts that have sprung to the notice of the public in the past year: Thanda Richardson & ‘Da Imani Troddaz’, and John Pfumojena & ‘Mnandi’.
A colourful collaboration between two such strong but different personalities and styles can be anticipated, with the outstanding voice of John Pfumojena and Mnandi’s own brand of  homegrown soul, paired with the energetic and explosive dancehall reggae - ‘the thunder’ of Thanda & Da Imani Troddaz.

Although both artists and their backing bands are young and fairly new on the local music scene, they are naturally gifted and already experienced in the art of music, and after many years of learning, growing, evolving, working with others and finding themselves.  They are now poised on the brink of promising music careers which will reach the world.

The Thursday 27 Aug show will be a real treat for music-lovers, and a great expose of the next generation of gifted artists to emerge from Zimbabwe.

 

THANDA RICHARDSON - Profile

Alice ‘THANDA’ Richardson is a livewire on the local Zimbabwe music scene, known and applauded for her passion and energy for dancehall reggae and ragga – what she calls “a fusion for the youth of the 21st Century”.  She’s live, she’s loud, and she’s loved by many.

Thanda has been 9 years on the music road, starting out as a backing vocalist while writing and recording her first single in 2003 - typical dancehall entitled ‘Sing-Sing’, by which she became better known in the wider music community. In 2004 she joined Trevor ‘Ras Jabu’ Hall and the reggae band Crucial Mix in Harare as backing vocalist, which led to many Zimbabweans performances, and her first South African performance with the band, alongside popular African reggae artists like South Africa’s ‘Jah Appleseed’, and ‘Born African’ from Malawi and in later years for popular Jamaican reggae artists Luciano and Mikey General.  She has also performed with the ‘Umoja’ and ‘Ubuntu’ African arts festivals, where she had the chance to work with big artists like Zimbabwe superstar Oliver Mtukudzi (who later backed Thanda on her song ‘Unodadaneyi’).

In 2006 she entered the Zimbabwe College of Music’s three-year National Certificate in Music (Ethnomusicology) course, and by the end of 2007 had formed the backing band ‘Da Imani Troddaz’, exploring various afrocentric fusions, and settling comfortably in the genre of dancehall reggae – her first love – with a twist of the nyunga nyunga mbira, which became her ‘second voice’.

‘Thanda’ means love, ‘Imani’ means faith (Swahili), and ‘Troddaz’ is for musicians who are treading the long path, working hard.  The current lineup of Da Imani Troddaz is Pritchard Chikwana (bass), Smiley Mwale and Ishe Jere (keyb), Brian Munongwa (drums), Winfrey Saungweme (b.vo), Nyash (mbira, b.vo), Vee Mukarati (sax), and Rumbidzai Tapfuma (perc, b.vo).

Thanda recently returned from the Ubuntu Festival in Holland, and is currently involved in a lively collaboration with Danish hiphop/ragga group Bikstok Rogsystem, performing in Zimbabwe and Denmark with Bikstock and two other Zimbabwean artists under the name ‘Bikstok–Izwi–Hatirare’.

Thanda writes her own music, and is now working on her first album ‘Give Thanks and Praise’ featuring ‘Only Jah, Jah He knows’ which speaks of people as individuals, ‘cos only Jah knows what’s inside of you!’

 

Background
 

Thanda’s mixed heritage comes from her Zulu great-grandfather from Kwazulu Natal, who married an Englishwoman.  As a mixed-race person she has faced many racial issues and accusations of ‘not fitting in’; but has refused to be crushed or cut out, or to be categorised by colour.  She says “In music there is no colour, no boundaries of that sort.  It’s just the feeling, tampering with emotions that everyone has”.  Given the opportunity to claim her British heritage, she refused, saying “…. for me, I’m Zimbabwean, I’m African.  I’ve been given the choice in my life [to change], but that’s not how I see myself.”

Moving from the Ndebele-speaking city of Bulawayo in the south-west of Zimbabwe  to the Shona-speaking capital Harare at a young age, languages come easily to Thanda, and she has succeeded in crossing the barriers of language and colour in a country which was has long laboured under the ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy, perpetrated by the colonists and perpetuated by various political agendas ever since.

“Over the years I have learned to be myself.  People appreciate it more and have come to accept me for what I am, and to judge me only by my music” she said in a recent interview.

The dynamic personality, the energy, the fire, ‘the Thunder of Thanda’ is rolling out from Harare on a big wave, destined to reach far into the region, the continent, the world.

 

 

JOHN PFUMOJENA & MNANDI - profile

Emerging from the Zimbabwe school system in 2008 with many awards and music experiences already under his belt, JOHN PFUMOJENA quickly rose to the public stage in Harare, Zimbabwe where his amazing talents have been unfolding ever since.  His extraordinary vocal control and range, and his soulful delivery have attracted the attention of audiences, established artists and promoters alike. 
Already heaped with awards and commendations for everything from music and drama to public-speaking and sport, at 20 John has already participated in many events and festivals around the country, including Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) festival-openers ‘It’s Showtime’ in 2007 and ‘Dreamland’ in 2008.  He has acted in several plays and played with a marimba band for four years consecutively.

John acted in and wrote the sound track to the short film ‘Zimbabwe the best country’ which won best short film awards at both the Zimbabwe International Film Festival 2008 and the International Images Film Festival 2008.
Bursting with more of his own compositions yet to be played, John formed the group Mnandi in 2008 along with other talented young musicians of Harare, and has finally found a space in which his music, and the delivery of it, can be given free reign.  His style is best described as ‘young urban traditional soul’ with influences from far and wide, and yet uniquely original.
John has worked closely with arts organisation Pamberi Trust, which provided creative space for rehearsals, access to equipment and performance opportunities at The Book Café and Mannenberg Jazz Club, where Mnandi have performed several times.  In the course of development programmes, they have had the chance to experiment and work with many other young musicians, which stimulated their growth and popularity.
In March 2009, Pamberi Trust staged the youth festival ‘Nguva Yedu/Thuba Lethu/Our Time’ in Harare, which saw John Pfumojena and Mnandi sharing the stage with top artists of Zimbabwe – Victor Kunonga and Dudu Manhenga - and regional stars Gang of Instrumentals (SA) and Chameleon (Uganda).  Their performance was met with wild acclaim from the hundreds-strong audience, and established the young group firmly in the ranks of musicians to be taken seriously.

John is now poised to launch into the music of the world, and is undoubtedly headed for bigger things.