Renowned songwriter, poet and author Chirikure Chirikure has given his fans a double offering after publishing a poetry anthology at the same time with his new album.
The anthology features his English and Shona poems with German translations and is titled Aussicht auf eigene Schatten while the album is titled Chisina Basa.
The 118-page book was published by Afrika Wunderhorn in Heidelberg, Germany.
The book is accompanied by a CD on which I will be reading each one of the poems in the collection in the original languages, said Chirikure.
His latest musical offering, Chisina Basa, is currently being marketed and distributed locally by Metro Studios.
The album features musician Nathan Jera and his family and was recorded at Inyasha Studios in Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom, and mixed and mastered at Diamond Studios in Harare.
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This has been a very long journey, undertaken over many years, across borders and I fully appreciate the support I got from everyone involved hoping that my efforts will add something of value to everyones life, said Chirikure.
The six-track album includes songs such as the title track Muchato Wasekuru Wakaendepi?, Zvidhonze, Rukuvhute and Ticheme Netariro.
All the pieces feature Chirikures poetic lines with the support of music which ranges from jiti, pop and Afro-jazz, offering variety, but retaining a common thread.
The hallmark of art is its ability to stimulate ideas, thoughts, and debate, which I hope this album will do, he said.
In 2002 Chirikure and the group Detembira released an album titled Napukeni, which was engineered and produced by Oliver Mtukudzi.
The album featured poetry with mbira music, while the new offering has been spiced up with other instruments.
Besides musical recordings, he has published three successful books of his poetry and has contributed to a number of anthologies and his poetry, mostly in Shona, has been translated into several languages, including Dutch, Norwegian, German, Spanish and Chinese.
Chirikure is currently based in Berlin, Germany, where he is one of twenty-three international artists on an artist-in-residency programme.