The Zawose Queens

The Zawose Queens – short bio

There is spirit and fire in the music of The Zawose Queens. There's the vibrations of the ancestors, coming through on tradi:onal instruments — soaring chizeze fiddle, buzzing illimba thumb piano, ngoma drums that chatter and thunder — and voices that go deep, high and out there. There's the connec:on to nature, to ceremony and ritual, in their dance inspired fusion, their blend of the organic, harmonic and modern-day electronic.
There are lyrics that tell, in their native kigogo, of the passion for music, the wonders of life. Of pride in environment, in tradition. In their East African roots.

Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing
of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania.
The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose
(Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).

Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first time that women from this
famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. Emboldened by
workshops in songwriting and music produc:on with visiting UK-based producers Oli Barton-
Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), The
Zawose Queens began writing their first ever songs. The resulting collec:on of songs range
from the stripped back and traditional-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic
elements, with beats and drops and found sounds and switch-ups.

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