KENYA-BASED Zimbabwean Afro-fusion songstress Queen Mashie together with acclaimed entertainer DJ Stavo will for the first time share the stage with self-exiled Chimurenga guru Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo in the United Kingdom today.
Simbarashe Manhango Own Correspondent
Slated for Athena Conference and Banqueting in Leicester, the gig is being promoted by the Chimurenga Music Company in conjunction with YahWeeh Promotions. With Mashie and Stavo featuring as special guest performers, the concert also features UK-based supporting bands, Zee and Heritage Survival.
NewsDay caught up with Queen Mashie via the social networking site, Facebook and she was thrilled ahead of her performance.
“I am super-excited about this, it is my first time to share the stage with Mukanya and I really feel honoured because sharing the stage with such a music legend is everything any musician could dream for.
“I also love the fact that another Zimbabwean and very good friend of mine, DJ Stavo, is also performing, and it just tells a lot about the impact Zimbabwean musicians are making locally and abroad,” said Mashie.
The former backing vocalist in The Storm, a band founded by his late brother and legendary guitarist Andy Brown, added that she was tirelessly working towards popularising her unique musical style across borders.
To date she has become a regular in the UK with her unique style that is combined into a fresh weaving Afro-jazz, mbira, folk sprinkled with Swahili flare. “My focus now is to market my music internationally and build a fan base globally. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication to achieve this yet it has been working for my career,” she added.
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Mashie’s music has been making waves through East Africa, gracing stages of prominent festivals such as Sauti za Busara (Zanzibar), Women in Jazz (Zimbabwe), and Afro Sinodo held in Manchester ,United Kingdom.
Soon after rounding up stay in the UK and some of the concerts that she is billed to stage, Mashie returns to Kenya for the October Women festival that she founded in October 2012, to become an annual fete in Nairobi.
She expressed her will to invite local artists for the October Women’s Festival some of which she has shared stage with in Zimbabwe.
“It would be amazing to have someone like Ammara Brown and many female artistes in the industry travel for the Women’s Festival. It is always exciting to network and showcase our talent as locals on one stage, most importantly in a different environment while in the interim,” said Mashie.
Meanwhile, Mapfumo continues to contribute to the growth of local musicians and music through his unswerving collaborations and joint shows.
Recently, Mapfumo shared the stage with Bongo Love at the Nectar Lounge in Seattle, United States of America during a round-up tour that Bongo Love jointly embarked on with the Chimurenga icon.
