Southern African marimba music in the Netherlands
We have just returned from a lovely couple of days in the Netherlands where we performed at the opening of Biennale Gelderland in the beautiful cultural centre, Rozet, in the heart of Arnhem.
We packed our marimbas in the back of a 9-seater mini bus on Thursday afternoon and headed for the Euro tunnel. 8 hours later we arrived in Arnhem with great thanks to our chauffeur for the journey, Paul Noels - who was also in the line up of performers for the following day.
We checked into our lovely bed and breakfast, and got what sleep we could before breakfast that morning. Later that afternoon we were picked up and headed to Rozet, to soundcheck and await the big opening that evening.
We went on at 7pm, and delivered an energetic set of Zimbabwean traditional songs - including Mugara Ndega, Manhanga Kutapira, Chemutengure and Zvichapera, as well as popular South African song, Pata Pata, by Miriam Makeba.
After the show, we were invited to a jam session in the restaurant in Rozet alongside all the other acts that had been invited to perform at the opening. This was great fun! We were joined by Vimbai Zimuto, a fantastic Zimbabwean musician who is based in the Netherlands.
Here's one of the songs we performed - Chemutengure - featuring Vimbai Zimuto.
-- 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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