Bongo Maffin returns from recording hiatus
The group is again tapping into Kwaito's politically and socially charged effect
“Bongo Harare”, belts out Thandiswa Mazwai’s soprano voice — overlayed, filtered and manipulated, but still ringing true. These are the first notes on Harare, a single ushering in four-part ensemble Bongo Maffin’s attempt at resurrection from a 12-year recording hiatus. The single, from their forthcoming album to be released in 2019, features a slicker Mari Ye Phepha, a high-octane Kuro Uone, a tight-guitar-chord-driven Upenyu Wakanaka with Jah Seed, Stoan and Speedy alongside Mazwai and in matching form. Jah Seed’s raspy falsetto laments “Ndoda kuenda ku Harare/Ndoda kugara ku Harare” (Shona for “I want to go to Harare/I want to stay in Harare”) — catching Mazwai’s pace but cutting through the manicured sound. For Jah Seed, real name Adrian Anesu Mupemhi, Harare is a representation of the modern African city. “Harare for us, is a song that we feel like opens up the whole regional integration,” says the Zimbabwe native. “We are paying homage — metaphorically, physically — to the arr...
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