The Sunday News
Vincent Gono, Features editor
A PAIR of Zimbabwean artistes based in the United Kingdom (UK) has teamed up with a white British friend to form a sungura outfit called Kambo that has since released a single and video called Melo that has become popular on online music and video site Youtube.
As if that is not enough the trio are planning on introducing the sungura music genre that is purely African in English.
The development, should it succeed is set to give a whole new dimension to the genre that traditionally sung in local languages specifically Shona in Zimbabwe although multilingual artistes have taken it upon themselves to use other African languages but never English.
Sunday life (SL) managed to talk the sungura outfit Kambo (KM) from their United Kingdom base and excerpts of the interview are below.
SL: Can you tell us about Kambo. What is it and when was it formed?
KM: Kambo is a sungura outfit that was formed in December 2014 and is based in the United Kingdom. The name Kambo simply means song in Shona. It’s a simple name but we feel it’s cool and catchy, it has an Afrocentric feel to it.
SL: How many are you in the group and are you all Zimbabweans?
KM: We are two Zimbabweans and one white British guy — Tonde Maheu Nembaware, Simba Mupfudze and Jacob Gardner. We also met Clive Mono Mukundu online when we were scouting for a good guitarist on youtube and we bumped into his videos. We contacted him the very same day and we managed to establish a solid relationship.
SL: How many albums do you have so far and who does the vocals?
KM: We do not have any albums as yet; we are currently focusing on singles. We did our single Melo and it was received well and in the next coming week we are releasing another sungura track called Ngirande meaning England. We all do the vocals, we try to swap around on leading songs and we also build harmonies in our songs together.
SL: Why do you choose sungura of all the genres especially that you are in the UK?
KM: Good question. Firstly, we feel that sungura has not progressed since the time of those legendary bands back in the day. We want to fill that void by bringing a new twist to it. You can tell by our approach to arrangements and even the videos. Sungura has so much potential if it is promoted well.
We feel we are capable of doing just that. We have millions into hip hop and millions into pop music, hundreds into Zim Dancehall but only a handful of artists are doing sungura. Out of those current sungura artists, only a few are promoting it at an international level. So we aim to be the game changers.
SL: Have you so far made successful strides in the UK market, what has been the response like?
KM: Not yet. Our game plan from the start was to create a cushion for ourselves so we decided to engage the African market first especially Zimbabwe. That way we can create the right buzz and by the time we introduce ourselves to the UK market the numbers will prove we are into something. That way it will be much easier to penetrate the market. The Western markets consider numbers before anything else. If the numbers are right the promoters will come knocking. We are making subtle inroads, the progress is a bit slow but promising. After three or four singles backed by videos we are sure we will be able to gauge how much ground we would have covered.
SL: Insightful plan indeed. How then are you marketing yourself in Zimbabwe?
KM: We have been putting out our art online via social networking sites. We have also engaged the national television where we submitted our video a week ago so they will be playing it in the next few days. We have also engaged a few radio stations who have been giving our music a decent chance of airplay.
SL: How many videos have you done so far?
KM: We have one so far but we are starting to shoot for Ngirande next week.
SL: Do you guys have any other professions other than you being artistes?
KM: Yes, we have them. Among us there is an entrepreneur, a producer and a part time disc jockey.
May I also say that our sungura sound has been elevated to a greater level because of one Zimbabwean guitar player — Clive Mono Mukundu. He is the one who played all the instruments you hear on our Melo and Ngirande tracks. He is great team player. He has become a father figure to us and we are humbled to have such a genius working with us.
SL: Do you guys have any music backgrounds?
KM: We were into acappella before. Simba and Tonde sang together in a UK-based acappella group known as Highground Accapella. Our experience in the accapella has made it easy when it comes to our harmonies. Before that we were also involved in some acappella groups back in Zimbabwe as well as high school choirs.
SL: What message do you wish to convey to your audience through your music if any?
KM: Particularly on Ngirande it’s a song that reflects Kambo as social commentators. We sing what we see in our day to day living. We simply interpreted what is currently taking place amongst married couples in the diaspora. Once you listen to the song Ngirande you will have a better understanding of what we mean by being social commentators.
SL: Will you be working with Clive Mono Mukundu through and through?
KM: Yes, we would love to and we hope we can continue with this special relationship. The guy is a genius and is the secret behind our sound. That’s why we shout his name a lot in our songs, to strengthen the brand. Interestingly however we have never met him in person. We do everything online. God knows what a live studio session with him would be like.
SL: You said you alternate leading the vocals. Does this also apply to Gardner the white guy who I assume knows little Shona?
KM: Yes, we have been giving him some leading roles and he is an amazing lad. He knows his game and his confidence in the studio is credible. We have been helping him out but most of his lines will be in English.
The plan is to sing sungura in English. That way we can reach out to an international audience and market easily.
