The Zawose Queens from Tanzanian musical dynasty announce debut album Maisha
The Zawose Queens, Pendo and Leah, are the daughter and grand-daughter of the late Dr. Hukwe Zawose.
Wed, 20 March 24
Released 06 September 2018
Liner notes
Totó La Momposina, the original “Queen of Cumbia”, has had a career spanning almost 60 years, and continues to perform all around the world at the age of 78. The singer reached international recognition in the early nineties when she released the classic album La Candela Viva on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records.
Working with legendary pop/rock producer Phil Ramone (Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan), Totó la Momposina y sus Tambores delivered a live performance at Real World Studios as part of Peter Gabriel’s famous Recording Week project, which brought together singers and musicians from all over the world to record and collaborate together.
The resulting album, which was completed in 1992 with producers John Hollis, Richard Blair and Marco Vinicio Oyaga, is still heralded as the Colombian singer’s most vital work, including iconic songs such as ‘El Pescador’, ‘La Candela Viva’and ‘Curura’.
Totó’s life has been dedicated to representing the music of Colombia’s Caribbean coastline, where African, Indigenous Indian and Spanish cultures mingle to create a unique musical tradition. Her music, driven by voices, flute and percussion, presents three distinct musical styles—Tambores, Sextetos and Gaitas.
Totó’s records have become firm favourites in the hip-hop and EDM scenes, being routinely sampled by heavy-weights such as Timbaland, Michel Kleis, Manu Chao, and most recently Jay-Z, who sampled ‘La Verdolaga’ on his 2017 Grammy nominated album 4:44.
The new EP, Fuego, features four previously unreleased songs from the original 1991/1992 sessions, which were discovered in 2015 when the original master tapes were restored and digitally remastered.
Further Listening
Released 09 September 1993
Released 25 June 2015
The Zawose Queens, Pendo and Leah, are the daughter and grand-daughter of the late Dr. Hukwe Zawose.
Wed, 20 March 24
The all-female African supergroup kickstart 2024 with their infectious new single, ‘Flaws’.
Thu, 11 January 24
French-Moroccan power quartet Bab L' Bluz, release the third track from their album Swaken.
Fri, 05 April 24
Sidestepper's Richard Blair remembers his late bandmate Teto.
Tue, 23 January 24