Pata Pata Tribute To Miriam Makeba

The late Miriam Makeba blessed the world with so many beautiful songs. One of our all time favourites is Pata Pata, which we performed last night at Juju's Bar & Stage, with the lovely Tsungai Tsikirai on lead vocals.

Pata Pata is sung in isiXhosa, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, and the title means "Touch Touch". The song was originally recorded in South Africa in 1957 but was only released in 1967 whilst Miriam Makeba was living in exile in the United States of America.

The original lyrics in isiXhosa are as follows (with a rough explanation in English in brackets):

Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

Yiyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Yiyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

Pata Pata is the name of the dance
We do down Johannesburg way
And everybody starts to move
As soon as Pata Pata starts to play

Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

iyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Yiyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

Every Friday and Saturday Night
It's Pata Pata time
The dance keeps going all night long
Til' the morning sun begins to shine

ABOUT US

We are a rhythmic world-music African marimba band, based in the United Kingdom, playing folk music from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana.

We are available for hire for all types of private and corporate events, including weddings, private parties, fundraisers, charity events, business networking events, conferences, festivals and concerts. Workshops are also available in marimba, mbira, drumming, singing, and African dance.

For bookings and enquiries, contact us on +44 (0)751 550 8934.

African marimba music at Fego Caffe

Our marimba band was invited to provide some southern African marimba entertainment at Fego Caffe in aid of a Save The Rhino fundraising initiative. We put together a repertoire of South African songs to cover with vocals and drumming.

Our set list ended up including songs by the late Miriam Makeba (Pata Pata / Click Song), the late Brenda Fassie (Weekend Special), Mahotella Queens (Thoko) and Solomon Linda (Mbube / The Lion Sleeps Tonight), as well as some of the more traditional Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu repertoire, including the wedding song uMakoti Ngowethu, a song celebrating the new bride and announcing her acceptance into the family; Mancube, a song about a woman who is using witchcraft; and Majola, a song used in traditional rituals imploring the ancestors to reveal themselves to help resolve matters within the family.

Here's a little showreel from the evening at Fego Caffe:

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-- ABOUT OTTO AND THE MUTAPA CALLING --

Otto and The Mutapa Calling is a lively London based marimba band playing energetic, joyful music from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, including folk songs, original songs and popular southern African covers. The band's set-up includes soprano, tenor and baritone marimbas, mbira, hosho, drumming and singing, with both traditional and contemporary dances. The marimba band’s sound is full of energy and pulsating rhythms - and their music shares the rich cultures, histories and stories of the people of southern Africa. Otto and The Mutapa Calling is a unique and colourful experience and is the only active professional marimba band of its kind in the United Kingdom.

www.ottogumaelius.com

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