Legal Lions Band one of the local traditional outfits that made waves with their hit single Tunisia, are set to release their sixth album Famba Na Mwari.
The song Tunisia composed on their fifth album Zinyamujajaja released in 2004 was dedicated to the honour of Zimbabwe Warriors who had qualified for their maiden appearance at the African Cup of Nations the same year.
The song undoubtedly received commendable airplay on several local stations and became popular on the local music charts.
This outfit fronted by Taurai Pekiwe who founded the group in 1990 and successfully led the outfit since — released their debut project, Samero in 1992.
Legal Lions outfit is well known within musical circles for their flare and artistry in playing mbira music.
Pekiwe did not forgotten his legion of fans as they will still be dancing away to some jiti and mhande, but this upcoming album has got some jazz beat to it.
“The album Famba NaMwari has got some jazz feel in it hence it seeks to justify the versatility of the long forgotten son of traditional music,” said Pikiwe.
“The jazz feel we have adopted now is meant to make the music more appealing to a wider spectrum of audiences rather than restricting to the purely traditional audience.”
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“This album also reflects the diversity of the Zimbabwean mbira music and from the mbira instrument. One can compose music from the various genres in the world and this latest album can bear testimony to this,” said Madzudzo Chakwenya the band manager.
The album is composed of songs like Zinyamutongi, the title track, Famba NaMwari, Sweetheart, one of the traditionally fused tracks with a bit of jazz touch which jazz lovers can expect to dance along to.
Gedje Gedje, Huya Hande and Perpetua are some of the songs of the tracks to look forward to. The album is set to be released end of August. There will be an official launch for the media and other stakeholders.
Legal Lions came about as a result of the break-up of a traditional group called Svinurai, which used to perform at international festivals mainly in the United Kingdom, where the founder and manager of the group, Geoffrey Chakwenya, was based.
However, Pekiwe, the lead vocalist started his career in Zengeza 2 in Chitungwiza and later moved to Mbare.
While in Mbare, Pekiwe was based at Chinembiri Craft Centre from where he managed to record four albums, namely Samero in 1992, Zvakanaka in 1993, Shangara Volume 3 in 1994 and Isaac Mazitye in 1999.
The most known album among these is Samero, with title track which stayed on the number one spot on the local charts for some time.
