World music label Cumbancha will release Rebel Woman worldwide this September
"I am like a mirror," declares Zimbabwe's popular music star Chiwoniso Maraire to Cumbancha's Simeon Chapin.
"I basically sing about what I see happening in the world. If someone comes up to me in the street to ask for money I'll sing about that. If people are jumping borders because their economic situation is too difficult, I'll sing about that. If the police are beating people up and intimidating them, I'll sing about that."
Zimbabwe's political and economic turmoil is front and center news, and in the capital city of Harare, artist Chiwoniso lives in midst of chaos, observing firsthand as her beloved homeland struggles to overcome the enduring legacies of colonialism, war, social inequality and political oppression.
Chiwoniso's music speaks for the people around her who have no voice otherwise.
On Rebel Woman, Chiwoniso's first internationally released album in over ten years, her personal songs offer messages of inspiration and resistance, serving notice that this gifted singer and songwriter merits recognition as one of Africa's greatest young talents.
Chiwoniso's musical influences originate in the ancient Shona civilization of southern Africa, the mbira is a key element of Zimbabwean music tradition and carries deep historical, cultural and spiritual symbolism. The musical instrument made of metal tines attached to a wooden board.
Chiwoniso, according to Chapin, has spent the last three years working with producer Keith Farquharson on Rebel Woman.
Recorded in Zimbabwe, South Africa, England and Vermont (where Cumbancha and its partner company Charles Eller Studios are based), the album features some of Southern Africa's most respected musicians and an intriguing collection of guests.
Opening track "Vanorapa", a song with a deep groove celebrates the elders and the realm of the spirits.
Chiwoniso explains: "Sometimes a person can die because there may be issues in their life when they were alive that weren't taken care of and that's when you have spirits roaming that need to be healed."
Chiwoniso co-wrote the song with her late father, musician and Ethnomusicologist Dumisani Maraire.
The title track, "Rebel Woman," takes inspiration from a poem about the role of women in Zimbabwe's war for independence. "The song is about the physical conditions of fighting, and the price people pay," she explains, but it is also a tribute to strong women who suffer because they do not follow the restrictions society tries to place on them.
"The truth is that when you're a strong woman you might lose our husband, your home, because the way the systems are structured you're not allowed to be strong as a women, unless you follow the rules. This is a song about changing those rules."
To listen to tracks and order, go here: HERE
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