The very existence of the Zawose Queens’ upcoming album is a testament to the strength and flexibility of heritage. Members of one of the most well-known musical Wagogo families–Peter Gabriel championed their shared ancestor, Dr. Hukwe Zawose, through recordings on his label Real World and WOMAD festival features–Pendo and Leah Zawose share the spotlight on debut album Maisha, taking lead roles typically held by men in Wagogo music and stepping into them with relish. Singing and playing percussion and ilimba (the lamellophone for which Dr. Hukwe Zawose was best known), they relate stories of life, family, and history with aplomb, lively against beds of subtly contemporary production put together by Oli Barton-Wood and Tom Excell. With their expertise and contributions from other friends and family members, the Zawose Queens shine on Maisha.
At the forefront of the music are the Zawose Queens, Pendo and Leah, whose stunning polyphonic vocals speak to their impressive lineages and individual skills. Their voices gleam, high notes and velvet counterpoints moving in satisfying harmony time and time again. Titular “Maisha” is perhaps the pinnacle of their interplay, Pendo and Leah’s verses rapidly switching between synchrony and seamless back-and-forth. The intervals between their voices are always exhilarating, generating enough power to hold their own in acoustic and electric environments. That’s put to the test throughout the album.
While Maisha leans relatively stripped-down in terms of effects, touches of reverb and fuzz are thoughtfully placed throughout, further energizing an already dynamic record. That comes to a head on “Mapendo”, the second single, which reaches a thrilling climax of syncopated rhythms and plugged-in shredding just before a sparse and sparkling end.
There is, though, no substitute for genuine musicianship, and that, too, is present in spades on Maisha. Sonorous ilimba ostinati make up the melodic backbone of “Dunia Hii”, “Fahari Yetu”, “Sauti Ya Mama”, and “Masanja Kalila”. Different flavors of percussion drive forward “Kuseka” and “Muheme”. The stinging chizeze spike fiddle cuts through the thick atmosphere on “Lulelule” and “Kusakala Kwenyungu”, both of which feature Leah’s father lending his own vibrant singing to the Zawose Queens’. The final track, “Chidodo”, features a lilting ukulele alongside a small chorus of exuberant vocalists. Every song is a meshwork of artists and producers listening to one another with obvious care, bringing the album together into a luscious and danceable whole.
Maisha is a triumph, an endlessly satisfying assemblage of textures and timbres. The Zawose Queens emerge as deservedly confident performers who know exactly how to deliver the messages on their minds, honoring the past and engaging every moment of the present with full hearts. Their voices are nimble, their collaborators masterful. Each instrument, human or otherwise, sings with a clarity that draws attention to how many sounds populate this ecosystem, from the metallic buzzing of ilimba and the soothing hollow of hand drums to the sharp pangs of wide-ranging strings and voices unbound. Pendo and Leah are capable culture bearers in their own right. On Maisha, they embody a bold sonic spectrum of traditions, which they present with vigor and grace.