The thumb piano (chilimba or mbira in East Africa or sanza or lokembe in the West) is a typical African instrument. It is composed of small metal sheets that vibrate under the thumb and that resound in a small wooden case they are fixed to. Nowadays they are mostly electrically amplified. On this recording it is mainly a giant version (the ilimba, specifically Tanzanian) of this instrument which is used. Hukwe Ubi Zawose sings pastoral tunes and throbbing like lullabies, along with two other musicians using rhythmic loops. Here and there appear strange voice sonorities that are surprisingly close to the diphonic traditions of Eastern Asia.
JVC – VID-25011