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| Hope Masike Returns |
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| News - The Book Cafe |
| Monday, 27 July 2009 09:21 |
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HOPE RETURNS! The Book Café Tuesday 28 July 2009, 8pm  HOPE MASIKE & KAKUWE return to the Book Café stage on Tuesday 28 July, after her month-long visit to Europe. Back from the Ubuntu Festival in the Royal Netherlands, Hope says she now has a lot more to share with her audience. For a musician, the amazing life experience of travelling to other countries and experiencing other cultures and music has a huge impact on the work they produce, and we can now look forward to a renewed energy and new articulation in Hope’s music as she returns home. Ubuntu Festival is an annual festival held in celebration of Africanism, this year hosted by the city of Goes. Hope, Theresa Muteta and 200 cast members spent a good month in rehearsals, workshops and performances leading up to the main Ubuntu show. “It was an intense month. We learnt a lot about Dutch music and art, European music in general, their pop culture and the huge differences in our cultures. We spoke about Zimbabwe; the very many positive things about Zimbabwe that are rarely spoken of - and believe you me, they are all dying to visit Zimbabwe now!” Hope Masike was one of three ambassadors for Zimbabwe chosen for the festival, along with her backing vocalist/percussionist Theresa Muteta and up&coming reggae songbird, Thanda Richardson. Hope performed the Ndebele traditional ‘Thula’, the Shona traditional song ‘Kuenda Mbire’, and her rendition of the song ‘Yeha-Noha’ by the group ‘Sacred Spirit’. She also recorded two new songs with acclaimed Dutch producer Arjan van Tricht and Mozambican percussionist and guitarist Calu Carlos Tsemane. The two songs will feature on her next album which she has already started working on. For the Zimbabwe women, one highlight of the trip was the visit to the Goes Municipality, where they shared ideas on the role of women in any society. She said “It was amazing to realise that gender-wise we are about 30 or 40 years behind. We were in a society where women do not compete against men or vice versa. No one spoke of equality or abuse because everyone respects everyone and gives each other space to grow and contribute to the general development of the nation.” Above all, Hope’s realisation and understanding of the relevance and importance of cultural preservation was strengthened. “This always becomes even more magnified when I visit other cultures. The artists we worked with were always impressed with our songs and dances. To them it was a whole new world of music which they found fascinating and very entertaining. Just as much as theirs was to us!” Background – Hope Masike Born into an artistic musical family ‘where there was always singing’, Hope has been singing all her life. In 2007 she joined the Zimbabwe College of Music Ethnomusicology programme, in her search for a better understanding and deeper relationship with music. Her studies in the programme involve focus on ethnic African instruments, and she soon started playing nyunga-nyunga (mbira). With friends and fellow students from the programme, Hope formed the band ‘Kakuwe’ – with a message for a better life, imitating the ‘Go-Away Bird’ which alerts forest animals to lurking danger, and at whose call the forest falls quiet and still, listening. Unlike the famous bird though, this singer-songwriter’s voice is sweet and pure and true. Hope says “We believe we have a message for people that can actually change the quality of their life, improve it… there’s a message in the music.” The music itself is about ‘cherishing truth and identity, love and spirituality’, a traditional Zimbabwean vibe, mixed with a bit of jazz and other influences. Artists who have inspired and influenced Hope’s music are Zimbabwe’s own Chiwoniso Maraire, South African singer Simpiwe Dana, and American divas Erica Badu and Whitney Houston - but Kakuwe are strongly Zimbabwean. Hope launched her debut CD ‘Hope’ with Kakuwe in Harare in May 2009, and with her recent travels, rapid growth and advancement, music-lovers can expect to hear her brand new sounds at the Tuesday Book Café shows until the next CD is completed. Following on from Ethnomusicology diploma from the Zimbabwe College of Music, Hope is stepping up in 2009 to a new level - the challenge of a degree in the Jazz programme. ENDS By Penny Yon Pamberi Trust |