By Fidelis Manyange

MANY local music fans would remember Portia Gwanzura and her Hohodza Marimba Band; particularly how they rose to stardom through the use of traditional instruments like marimba, mbira, hosho and drums.
When they moved to permanently settle in the UK, they dropped the traditional instruments and even the name Marimba disappeared from their band’s name as they resorted to modern instruments like keyboards and guitars.
This led to the demise of the band as they could not cope with competition there.
They could have embraced modern instruments and let traditional instruments keep dominating their music.
In West African countries like Mali and Senegal, many successful artistes, now France-based, have their music dominated by traditional instruments like kora and djembe.
The successful South African outfit Black Mambazo stuck to their a cappella to date.
Lameck Moyo of Amabhubesi of the ‘Rega kusarira’ fame shifted from imbube to guitars and the outcome was disastrous for the whole group.
It brought his music career to an abrupt end.
The Bundu Boys ‘Warner Bros’ project became a flop at first because the Bundu Boys thought they could fit in the European market and community by dropping the jit touch.
But they realised later it was that bit which was liked by the intended market.
If there is a group that has studied this trend well and are riding on the waves of success, it’s Guruve Marimba Arts Ensemble.
They have mastered the art of traditional instruments dominated by marimba.
The group, under the leadership of Ginatsia Nyanhete aka ‘Jah Lemmy’, has stuck to their original ganre since 2006 and it is starting to thrive.
The group hails from Ruyamuro in Guruve District.
Their musical journey began when Ginatsia’s elder brother, who owned marimba instruments, invited his young brother and colleagues to try a hand at marimba music.
They mastered the instrument so well that the community got interested in the group.
An arts expert, Manasibi Chigorimbo, after seeing the group performing at Chibuku Neshamwari district competitions in Guruve in 2013 bought them a six-piece marimba instrument kit to boost their act.
“It was the National Arts Council who advised us to take part in the Chibuku Neshamwari Dance Festival and we decided to engage the services of a choreographer named Linot Laimbo which led us to winning the first prize in the Chibuku Neshamwari Dance Festival at Harare Gardens in 2010,” said Ginatsia Nyanhete, the band leader, composer and lead vocalist of the group.
“Later on, our fans and other music experts advised us to add guitars to our traditional instruments to spruce up our beat.
“After adding these instruments, we decided to go for Chibuku Road to Fame competitions and we came second at the national finals at Glamis Arena in Harare in 2013 and this gave us confidence in recording our debut album Topinda Musango which we released this year.”
Topinda Musango is an album composed with educational and entertainment objectives.
It carries strong social messages appealing for respect, hope and love across the cultural divide.
The rich traditional lyrics from powerful vocals makes one realise there is a lot of talent out there in the rural areas, a proof of our rich cultural heritage.
The group’s type of music is called Afro-traditional.
“We are going to let marimba dominate our music and we are also going to stick to the name Guruve Marimba Arts Ensemble because we are proud of marketing the place we came from as well as the instrument which brought us fame,” said Ginatsia.
Days after the release of their album, the song ‘Kubindu’ was already topping charts on Radio Zimbabwe’s Coca Cola Top 20.
The group got inspiration from Oliver Mtukudzi, a fellow Korekore artiste, and in 2012 they featured in his project Masanga Bodo.
They were part of the cast of the production which fused live music, dance and drama at Pakare Paye Arts Centre.
To boost their income, the group engages in other activities such as making marimba instruments, drums, hosho and designing traditional costumes.
By featuring in two prominent arts competitions’ finals, Chibuku Neshamwari and Chibuku Road to Fame, through marimba, the group proved their versatility and they are set to scale dizzy heights.