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Masike set to tour Europe

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HIGHLY acclaimed Afro-jazz music songbird Hope Masike continues to raise the Zimbabwean flag high and is headed for Europe again this winter where she will tour Germany, Norway, France, Austria and Iceland for the duration of two months.

HIGHLY acclaimed Afro-jazz music songbird Hope Masike continues to raise the Zimbabwean flag high and is headed for Europe again this winter where she will tour Germany, Norway, France, Austria and Iceland for the duration of two months.

Simbarashe Manhango

This follows her successful South African tour last month where she teamed up with Kunzwana, a collaboration she did with Austrian musicians that also premiered at this year’s edition of the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa).

Currently organising the tour herself with help from a great network of people in Zimbabwe and abroad, Masike stands out to be among one of the most travelled artistes who have benefited a lot from touring.

Masike says every time she travels, she has become more tolerant and patient and at the same time appreciative of the virtue of different cultures attached to different musical landscapes she has come across.

“Every time I tour, I meet a lot of different people with different expressions of the same things and this has influenced me to grow in a unique way. Culturally, I love the personality that has been growing in me since I have learnt to be more tolerant and patient.”

Masike will first tour Germany where she has several engagements including a theatrical production that will also be premiered in Harare in August.

From Germany, Masike will be headed straight to Norway and is scheduled to venture in a collaborative project with the Norwegian group Monoswezi while in Austria she will play mostly as part of Kunzwana.

In Iceland and France she will do solo concerts up until she rounds up her adventure in July.

Masike added that: “It is always an honour to represent my country, culture and everything else when I tour. It always gives me the pleasure and more appreciation of my country and its entire heritage.”

On Thursday Masike did a live recording of her new DVD and latest project at Alliance Francaise that she is also taking along with her to Germany as part of her promotional works.

Last week, she also performed at Misty’s in Newlands as part of her farewell gig before she embarks on her tour.

Masike’s last farewell gig is slated for the Book Café on June 12 where she will perform alongside the Monkey Nuts, Filbert Marova, Forward Kwenda and reincarnated jazz musician Dudu Manhenga.

Barely six years in the industry Masike has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in mbira music and to date she has toured several countries including Norway, Zambia, South Africa, and Netherlands among others managing to do eye catching collaborations with several international and local musicians such as Monoswezi, the Monkey Nuts and Bokani Dyer.

Meanwhile, Masike says that upon her return from Europe she will be focused on hosting live concerts in her home town of Highfeild to give back to society and keep alive her roots from where she come from.

“Whatever the outcome musically and culturally you must never forget your roots and to give back to the society where you come from thus upon my return, I will be focused on hosting gigs in my home town.

“The focus will be to promote my music downtown and at the same time change the perception that ghetto doesn’t fancy this kind of alternative music seemingly revered up-town,” she said.