UnitKMusic

ve had alarm bells ringing for some – not me (although some friends did manage to go to the wrong field in S.W. kugocha mahembe).
When I arrived it really felt like being back in Zim! There was hyper inflation in the cost; whereas a couple of years ago the healthy £16 entry fee would get you a t-shirt a beer or two and a braai pack, no such luck this time round. Your ticket got you in, and that was all – still at least the day was promising a really great musical line up.
I wandered over to buy some drinks tokens (at a hefty £2.75 each), but was further dismayed when the tokens, which were supposedly exchangeable for 500ml of draught beer, could only actually be exchanged for a bottle of beer or cider.
I was lead to believe that this very good representation of the Zimbabwean currency was not a planned feature of the day – and wearily awaited the announcement that you would have to exchange your tokens for some newly-made ones of lesser value. Thankfully this never happened. They did however manage to fit in some Zim-style power cuts.
The music was the singularly good feature of the event. Divided Kingdom Republic began very messily with a rather promising reworking of the national anthems; new and old, but having chastised the crowd for not singing along, I rather felt they needed to have agreed on which verses they were actually doing between themselves beforehand.
On the whole, their sound was good and the rhymes were slick, whether or not you agreed with their sentiments, but they could really benefit from more experience on the stage to make it look easy like the hardworking hiphop heroes they try to emulate (rather than play o.k. and make it look shambolic). Still, I’m not sure they felt Zimfest was really their crowd – and I like to think that they’d be much more inspired in front of a more appreciative audience, if they can find one.
Bushguru were great. A far cry from the band that I saw struggling with bad venue sound a couple of months ago, this time you could hear the music which felt authentic and really struck a chord with me. They played with a scaled down four-piece line-up which I felt worked for them and were consummate professionals – even when power outages cut them off halfway through songs… twice.
Henry Olonga came on to mixed reactions from the crowd. There are many who still hold him in the highest regard for his contributions to Zimbabwean cricket, and there are those that feel the sportsman turned popstar thing smacks too much of milking his celebrity status. There’s no doubt that he can sing, but I personally am not much of a fan of ‘pop’ music in general and was disappointed that he came on stage alone with a backing track rather than seeking out some musicians to add more of a ‘live’ element to his show.
Mann Friday really come into their own on the bigger stage, and Zimfest was no exception. Somehow the wind and moody London skies, on what was a decidedly un-summer-like day, only added to the sound and the feel of the music. They elavated the show and never looked like they should be anywhere except on that stage doing what they do – and doing it well.
And so to Netsayi who headlined the festival – impressive as ever and a fine way to round off what had been a really entertaining day of music. I’ve said it before – she’s really good – go check her out when you can.
Will I be back for more next year? Most certainly if the musical lineup continues to grow and improve. Will I be sad about paying £16 for the privilege? No, I’ll just be sneaking in my vodka in a water bottle like everyone else. – Find out more about all the bands mentioned on their websites:
Mann Friday – www.mannfriday.co.uk
Bushguru – www.bushguru.com
Netsayi – www.netsayi.com
DK Republic – www.dkrepublic.com
Henry Olonga – www.henryolonga.net
If you’re in a band playing in the greater London area and would like a review of your next show in the Zimbabwean please e-mail unitkmusic@gmail.com