It’s funny how suddenly hearing an old song can transport us to a different time and place. A bit like childhood smells but we won’t explore that thought any further. And how our appreciation of music develops and changes. I was going to say, “matures” but let’s face it, some of us haven’t. I can clearly remember my music choices being almost exclusively the popular choice of the day – the Neil Diamond record was carefully hidden at the back of the cupboard (even today I wouldn’t easily admit to listening to him) – but then there are Michael Bolton fans ….

I can vividly remember driving around Austria, young and slim (who says alcohol is fattening?), with several beaus of varying potential awaiting my call (it’s true I tell you) and listening to “Antenna Steiermark” (radio station) who had a summer of non-stop rock’n'roll and catchy, upbeat music. The window rolled down, on my way paragliding. Let me tell you that there is a marked difference between running down a slope, and jumping off something – a bridge for instance, or swimming or meeting someone for coffee.  I had all the time in the world.

These days I find myself listening to really crap music because the lyrics are sublime. And also listening to really beautiful music but having no clue what that chap Eros Ramazotti is singing about. The name says it all, Italian crooner, good-looking, macho … yes I have spent some time studying the CD cover.

I dance to DSTV’s contemporary music channel with the kids. Sometimes we pretend we’re a band. We use tennis racquets for guitars, a hairbrush for a microphone and multi-coloured wigs and if dad is lucky we force him to sit through a show. Unrehearsed because we can’t decide on the music in advance, so inevitably no one knows the words. It must be a bit painful to be on the receiving end.

Come to think of it he never sits through more than 3 songs so I don’t feel too bad.

The Book Café Carpark, Harare
Friday 9 September, 6-11.30pm

This week Sudanese hiphop star EMMANUEL JAL lands in Harare for a whirlwind hiphop collaboration with Zimbabwe.  A mega performance in the Book Café car park on Friday 9 September from 6pm will headline Jal and his 6-piece band, following a star line-up of some of Zimbabwe’s best – feisty mbira star Chiwoniso Maraire, ‘Comrade Fatso’ and Chabvondoka, and ‘Outspoken’ and The Essence.

Emerging from a vicious background of child-soldiering in Southern Sudan, and after escaping to Kenya, Jal fell in love with hiphop and felt it could provide the easiest and most effective vehicle to express his story.  Emmanuel Jal’s music grew in Kenya, reached the word through the airwaves, and he is now an internationally renowned hiphop artist, with a strong message of peace for the world.  “Jal set the hip-hop bar higher,” wrote the Washington Post in 2008.

Despite his accomplishments in music, Jal’s biggest passion is for Gua Africa, a charity that he founded. Besides building schools, the nonprofit provides scholarships for Sudanese war survivors in refugee camps, and sponsors education for children in the most deprived slum areas in Nairobi.

Jal, whose own childhood was robbed from him, aims to protect the childhood of others through music. “Music is powerful.  It is the only thing that can speak into your mind, your heart and your soul without your permission” he said.

Jal will be making powerful music on Friday 9 September, alongside Zimbabwean artists who also have a story to tell, gifted young musicians, songwriters and poets who have achieved some acclaim in the world, also gracing stages from New York to Berlin and Capetown to Zanzibar.  The open air concert kicks off with the Zimbabwean artists, followed by Emmanuel Jal at 10pm.

‘War Child’
A documentary film about Emmanuel Jal called ‘War Child’ was made in 2008 by C. Karim Chrobog.  It made its international debut at the Berlin Film Festival and its North American debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Cadillac Audience Award, and an autobiography under the same name was released in 2009.

As part of the Emmanuel Jal programme, ‘War Child’ will be screened on Thursday 8 September, at the Mannenberg Film Club

Poetry Bulawayo invites you to the event Poetry Potpourri – A night of Poetry & Music

WHERE? @ Amal by BAC sportsclub (12th Ave extension – opposite Byo Poly)
WHEN? Friday 19 August
WHAT TIME? 16:30 for 1700hrs
HOW MUCH? $2

PRESS RELEASE

A Temporary Inconvenience
By Andrew Mutandwa

Poignant poetry collection distils the lonely ache of displacement experienced by those forced to flee political turmoil in their homeland.

Andrew Mutandwa’s debut book of poetry charts the struggle to escape oppression and the difficulties the journey presents to those forced from their homes, lives and families by domestic troubles. This heart-wrenching volume initially draws on the harrowing experiences faced by those living in the iron grip of a brutal regime. Contracting the pain and suffering of oppressed faceless millions into the compelling testament of one man, the poems evoke the violence of life lived under a military dictatorship. Swinging from the loss of self at home to the loss of self abroad, the poetry brings to light the traumatic erosion of individual identity that confronts refugees who flee one type of violence only to be confronted with another deeper violence – the defacement of individual identity and the erosion of cultural expression amid the lonely diaspora. This powerfully moving collection lays bare the pain and pathos of politically displaced individuals, articulating the lifelong effects of what initially seems like a temporary inconvenience.

With striking realism Andrew Mutandwa portrays the emotional battle to carve out a new home for one’s family when ‘home’ becomes a hostile and dangerous place. Providing an insight into the erosion of freedom in Zimbabwe, Mutandwa offers a powerful testament to the bravery of individuals in the African diaspora and of displaced peoples around the world. Providing a much needed exposition of the cultural tensions that repeatedly rock Africa to the core, A Temporary Inconvenience is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand why this rich land is failing its own progeny.

About the Author: Andrew Mutandwa is a former civil servant, diplomat and journalist who has specialised in international development, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and human rights issues. He was in the first group of journalists to be formally trained when Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980. He currently lives in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

The book is currently being sold on line through a number of distributors such as Amazon, WH Smith, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, and Author House.

After being chosen to represent Zimbabwe on Big Brother Africa Wendall Parson did not enjoy a fair share of media publicity like his fellow housemate Vimbai Mutinhiri. Barely 2 months ago The Sunday Mail published an article entitled “Who is Wendall?” Instead of supporting our Zimbabwean representative the paper went on to publish a racially charged article questioning Wendall’s citizenship.

Despite the racist reporting, the people of Zimbabwe went on to prove that our country is made up of people of different backgrounds. Since Wendall is white the Sunday Mail reporter just assumed he is foreign only to be proved wrong with positive response and support Wendall got from fellow Zimbabweans. The smear campaign and bad journalism actually propelled Wendall Parson to victory much to the surprise of the reporter. We have so many Zimbabweans who are flying our flag high representing the country in various activities regardless of race, colour or creed.

Gone are days when people would cry their lungs out to express their emotions for the loss of a loved one. Instead, as way of celebrating the life of a loved one who has passed on, people have now resorted to lightening the occasion with some music leading into a party. When I was growing up funerals were associated with somber church hymns and sad faces. Laughing at a funeral was taboo because one was expected to be mourning.  I remember back in 2001 my Uncle had a nasty fight with my Aunt after they attended a funeral in the low-density suburbs of Harare. By the slip of the tongue my aunt was overheard telling her friends that she really enjoyed the funeral to the extent that it looked like a wedding … “Asikana takafara zvekuti nhamo yanga yoita kunge muchato, taingoti kana toda chikafu tongo shevedzera waiter ouya nacho” … meaning we really enjoyed ourselves and one could think it was a wedding because there was catering service at the funeral. I wouldn’t blame my aunt for being unAfrican or for saying those things because coming from the high-density suburbs she expected to see grieving people wearing sad faces just like any funeral she had previously attended.

In Zimbabwean culture one is not supposed say you enjoyed the funeral no matter how much fun you had. But with changing times and the embracing of other cultures, funerals are now places where one can put on dancing shoes and place your favourite music request from the master of ceremonies. In a similar scenario Jimmy Jimalo, the young brother of Philip Chiyangwa, before he died asked for a live band and a party at his funeral. Music promotion was his business and as a nice farewell Sulumani Chimbetu gave a stunning performance. To some people this sounds like showing off or an extravagance but to some they call it changing times and a befitting sent-off.