Musical Belongings V. lautten compagney BERLIN trifft Wagogo Music aus Tansania

In the organizer's words:

With its project WAGOGO DRUMS: TANSANIA , lautten compagney BERLIN explores the possibilities of music beyond the colonial canon, which continues unquestioningly in generalized terms such as "African music".

The procedures of so-called "early music" from Europe show parallels to West African playing practices, which can be exemplified by techniques such as ostinato/riff, call and response and hoketus/interlocking. The project explores common sources and differences in a one-week workshop and two concerts at the Humboldt Forum. The focus is on two musical traditions: the music of the Wagogo people from Dodoma / Tanzania with their advanced vocal and percussion culture meets dances from the European Renaissance, especially from those countries that were present as colonial powers on the territory of present-day Tanzania (Portugal, Great Britain and Germany).

The musicians who keep the rich heritage of WAGOGO alive include the famous Zawose family. Hukwe Zawose (1940-2003) was the most important traditional musician in Tanzania in the 20th century and the founding father of an entire musical dynasty. His daughter Pendo and his granddaughter Leah perform together internationally as THE ZAWOSE QUEENS and cultivate the elaborate polyrhythmic overtone singing as well as playing the ilimba (lamb lophon) and the ngoma drums. Hukwe's son SINAUBI ZAWOSE, born in 1995, continues the family traditions in a different, no less exciting way. He is a master on the zeze, a fourteen-sided bowl lute, and transforms the traditional music of his culture into the present. He is accompanied by LUCAS UBI ZAWOSE (Ilimba, Chilimba, Chizeze) and BAHATI ZAWOSE (percussion).

What does it sound like when a Wagogo spike lute comes into conversation with a European theorbo (bowl-necked lute) from the 16th century? And how can the polyrhythmic dances of the Wagogo be fused with Renaissance dances? Such sound experiments can be expected at this edition of MUSICAL BELONGINGS at the Humboldt Forum.

The Zawose Queens, Pendo Zawose - overtone singing, Ilimba (Lammelophon), Ngoma Drums

The Zawose Queens, Leah Zawose - overtone singing, Ilimba (Lammelophon), Ngoma Drums

Sinaubi Zawose - Zeze (bowl spear lute)

Lucas Ubi Zawose - Ilimba (lamb lophone), Chilimba, Chizeze

Bahati Zawose - percussion

PARTICIPANTS

The music of the Zawose Queens is full of energy and passion. It is characterized by ancestral vibrations expressed through traditional instruments - the soaring chizeze violin, the humming illimba thumb piano, the ngoma drums that rattle and thunder - and voices that reach low, high and far. There is the connection to nature, to ceremonies and rituals in their dance-inspired fusion, their blend of the organic, the harmonic and modern electronics. There are lyrics that tell of a passion for music and the wonders of life in their native Kigogo language. Of pride in the environment, in traditions. Of their East African roots.

Pendo and Leah Zawose present the flowing polyrhythms and intoxicating polyphonic singing of the Gogo people (also known as Wagogo) from the dry, hilly region of Dodoma in 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, is the first time that women from this famous musical family have appeared as lead singers and performers. Encouraged by songwriting and music production workshops with UK-based producers Oli Barton-Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), The Zawose Queens began writing their first original songs. The resulting collection of songs range from stripped-down, traditional-sounding pieces to songs infused with subtle electronic elements, beats, drops, found sounds and switch-ups.

Sinaubi Zawose was born on 01.02.1995 into the musical dynasty of the Zawose family, which represents Tanzania worldwide through traditional gogo music.

Sinaubi began learning music as a traditional dancer and drummer at the age of 10 under the guidance of the internationally renowned Dr. Hukwe Zawose, a prominent Tanzanian musician of the Wagogo ethnic group. Sinaubi's master teacher Hukwe Zawose gained national and international fame after Julius Nyerere invited him to live and work in Dar es Salaam. He became famous through his collaboration with Peter Gabriel. In 2005, he was posthumously awarded the Tanzania Hall of Fame Award. In 2008, Sinaubi Zawose released his first album WICHIMAJE with traditional music based on the nature and language of the Gogo traditions. Together with his sisters and brothers, he created a unique album that preserves the musical roots of the Zawose family.

In 2014, he began his studies at the TaSuBa School of Arts in Bagamoyo. In 2019, he performed in the show "East Africa Got Talent" in Nairobi/Kenya and reached the semi-finals. Sinaubi made history as the first artist from Tanzania to play the traditional 14-string gogo harp called Zeze live on stage and made it into the TOP TEN out of 5000 participants. In 2021, Sinaubi performed at the Pamoja Zanzibar Festival at Nafasi Art in Dar es Salaam, toured Zanzibar and Tanzania and started a collaboration with Radek Bond Bednarz, musician and producer, founder of the cultural platform Pamoja Zanzibar. In 2023, they released the album "GOGO HIP", which was recorded with a full live band at Wanene Studios in Dar es Salaam. It was recognized by World Music Charts Europe(https://wmce.de) as one of the best albums of 2023.

Bahati Julius Zawose, born on July 15, 1989 in Bagamoyo, Pwani Region, Tanzania, is a talented multi-percussionist, music producer and singer. He comes from the renowned Zawose family of musicians as the grandson of the legendary Dr. Hukwe Zawose and son of Julius Hukwe Zawose.

Bahati is deeply rooted in traditional Gogo music and continues his family's musical heritage by combining it with contemporary sounds. As a core member of the band SinaUbi Zawose, he has contributed significantly to the development and worldwide recognition of Tanzanian traditional fusion music. Bahati has performed at major festivals in East and West Africa as well as in Japan and Europe.

In 2022, Bahati performed at the Pamoja Zanzibar Festival together with Sinaubi Zawose and Lucas Ubi Zawose, which marked the beginning of the collaboration with Polish musicians and producer Radek Bond Bednarz, the founder of the Pamoja Zanzibar platform in East Africa. Together they performed at the Indian Ocean Music Market (IOMMA) on Reunion Island, at the Music in Africa Access Festival and Conference in Dar es Salaam and at Visa for Music in Morocco. Bahati was involved in the recording of the album "GOGO HIP" by Sinaubi Zawose & Pamoja Zanzibar at Wanene Studios in Dar es Salaam. The album, produced by Bond, was named one of the best albums of 2023 by the World Music Charts Europe and was presented at European festivals such as Afrika Hertme 2024 in the Netherlands and at festivals in Austria, Poland and Hungary.

Lucas Ubi Zawose: Master musician of traditional gogo music of the Wagogo people in Dodoma. Singer, performer and instrument maker. Lucas plays all traditional gogo instruments such as zeze, marimba, ilimba, filimbi, kayamba, chizeze, ndon...

Lucas Zawose learned the music from his brother Dr. Hukwe Ubi Zawose. Together they toured the world and spread the music culture and values of the Wagogo people in Japan, Germany, Great Britain, many African countries and other countries. Lucas Ubi Zawose has been playing music for 40 years, but after the death of Hukwe Zawose in 2003 and Charles Zawose in 2004, Lucas decided to retire. In 2023 he returned to music and recorded albums and performed with Sinaubi Zawose & Pamoja Zanzibar. His stage presence is always a very special moment for everyone, the band and their audience.

- 20,00 EUR / 10,00 EUR reduced (tickets to follow)

- Duration: 90 min

- Location: Hall 2

- No language skills required

- Belongs to: Musical Belongings