Innocent (aka Inno)'s Profile
I grew up listening to African music in the African townships of Zimbabwe, something I took for granted until I came here. Soon after arriving here, suffering from acute homesickness, one of the first things I sought out was people with whom I could share and reminisce about my African heritage and thus maintain my connections with my roots. I soon discovered that there was a regular African session at the Devonshire Arms presented by no other than our veteran African Music DJ Elizabeth. Here are a few brush strokes of the music that makes me tick.

My first musical tastes were shaped from an early age by singing folk songs during childhood role-playing (“mahumbwe”) and the experience of watching and listening to performances of live mbira music at traditional divining ceremonies ("kushopera") and celebrations ("mabira"), hence my strong inclination towards this genre. Local radio and TV, gigs, beer gardens, bottle-stores, shebeens and other venues featured the now well-known symbols of this Zimbabwean spiritual music - the likes of which included: the catchy and fiery rhythms of Thomas Mapfumo; the soulful and sometimes melancholy melodies of Oliver Mtukudzi, and the deeply spiritual and gravitas-laden tunes of Stella Chiweshe. This music played an important role during the war against colonial rule by educating and motivating the freedom fighters and populace while by-passing the censors through the use of idiom, metaphor and allegory. Other performers from this period, concentrating mainly on social commentary and advice, included the likes of the Devera Ngwena Jazz Band, The Green Arrows, and Safirio Madzikatire. I observed and heard all this through my early teen eyes and ears.

Post-1980, that is independence; there was an explosion of jubilant, celebratory and social commentary music much of which took Zimbabwe and parts of the world by storm. Notable among these were the lyrical vocals and talking guitars of the Bhundu Boys, the admonitory and advisory sayings of the Marxist Brothers, the colourful and sometimes comedic stories of Paul Matavire, and the mbira-influenced acts of Robson Banda and Jonah Sithole. Zimbabwe's music was also influenced by the Congolese Rumba style, with several artists such as Simon Chimbetu, Leonard Dembo, John Chibadura being the main classics. Then at boarding school, I was occasionally slipping out with friends (on some plausible off-campus educational excuse) to the “growth points” and townships for an afternoon or weekend of merriment. These days in Zimbabwe, Congolese music itself is a force to be reckoned with, with several well and lesser-known outfits regularly visiting Zimbabwe to spread their message, which are lapped up by the locals. Kanda Bongo Man and Zaiko Langa Langa are definite favourites.

Another music style with a strong presence in Zimbabwe is South African, a result of shared history, traditions, borders and destiny. With its distinctive, energetic, joyful but sometimes sad-if-not-angry, or downright cool rhythmic bass lines or trumpets, this music finds much favour at clubs, parties, and chill-outs. There are few contemporaries who have not heard of Steve Kekana’s romantic melodies; or Brenda Fassie and Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s raunchy and very danceable renditions of their numbers. And of course no mention of South African music would be complete without Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. During a recent visit to South Africa, all the rage seemed to be with Hippy-Hoppy and R’n’B tunes, in particular the group Revolution seemed to be taking the night life by storm. Oh, South Africa is so rich, this was just a starter …

Like in many other African countries, Reggae has had a strong influence on the Zimbabwean music and social scene, especially in the heady and hopeful post-independence days when it was un-banned - the previous colonial government had considered it too radical and consciousness arousing. Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder performed on Independence Day followed in quick succession by other heavy weights such as Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, and I Jah Man. The influence has been lasting in the region, with international acts such as Lucky Dube from South Africa and Innocent Utsiwegota from Zimbabwe. Here in Cambridge, we have our own budding talent in Baba Prince, doubtless much inspired by the success of the above.

My musical tastes have broadened since those youthful days; gradually expanding to encompass more of: African music further North; Arabic, Caribbean, Latino, Hispanic, Indian, Native American, and some mainstream Western music. It’s all a growth process; maybe you are the one to introduce me to something I did not know I was missing?

Oh I could go on, but that’s as much as I can tell you now. You can see my current favourite tracks here. After staying in several cities in Zimbabwe and England, I came back to Cambridge in 2000. This is when I started playing regularly at the Devonshire Arms. If you want to get in touch, come along to the Devonshire Arms any Tuesday, or why not drop me an email at inno@calabash.org.uk.