Chamunorwa

Chamunorwa
Studio album by
Thomas Mapfumo
Released1991
GenreChimurenga, shona[1]
LabelMango
Thomas Mapfumo chronology
Zimbabwe Mozambique
(1988) 		Chamunorwa
(1991) 		Varombo Kuvarombo
(1989)

Chamunorwa is an album by the Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo, released in 1991.[2][3] He is credited with his band, Blacks Unlimited.[4] The title translates to What Are We Fighting For.[5] Chamunorwa was Mapfumo's final album for Mango Records.[6]

Mapfumo supported the album with a North American tour.[7] The album was a hit on Billboard's World Music Albums chart.[8] It was banned from Zimbabwean radio.[9]

Production[edit]

Recorded in Harare, the album was remixed at Island Studios, in London.[10] Mapfumo continued to use mbiras and hoshos, but made heavier use of brass and percussion than on previous albums.[11][12]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Calgary HeraldA[5]
Chicago Tribune[14]
Robert Christgau(neither)[15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[16]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide[17]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[18]

The New York Times deemed the album "a quiet triumph," writing that "the music rolls along on its six-beat pulse, lightening Mr. Mapfumo's doleful meditations with the sparkle of mbira lines and sure but laconic drumming."[1] The Baltimore Sun wrote that "its gentle melodies and lithe, burbling rhythms require no translation—intriguingly infectious, they're enough to win over almost any listener."[19]

The Chicago Tribune noted that "even those unfamiliar with [chimurenga] will find themselves seduced by the snaky guitar and mbira lines, complex net of percussion, bursts of horns and, driving everything, the distinctive rolling rhythms of Zimbabwean music... The beautiful irony is that by remaining true to his roots, Mapfumo has created something of universal appeal."[14] The Washington Post stated that Mapfumo's "multilayered chimurenga explores an array of traditional Shona melodies and percussion and is softened by the gentle plinking of mbira thumb pianos."[20]

The Spin Alternative Record Guide called the album "Mapfumo at his most basic, re-re-Africanizing the music by adding vigorous mbira parts and sticking close to rugged folk arrangements."[18]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Hwahwa" 
2."Muramba Doro" 
3."Chitima Ndikature" 
4."Chamunorwa" 
5."Hurokuro" 
6."Nyama Yekugocha" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (10 Mar 1991). "When Messages Hide in Riffs and Rhythms". The New York Times. p. A28.
  2. ^ DeLuca, Dan (7 May 1991). "The Lion Roared to Beat the Ban". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C1.
  3. ^ Feist, Daniel (3 Sep 1991). "Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited Chamunorwa". The Gazette. p. E2.
  4. ^ Snider, Eric (14 May 1991). "Different Notes for Different Folks". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1D.
  5. ^ a b Wagamese, Richard (17 July 1991). "Today's Best". Calgary Herald. p. D6.
  6. ^ Turino, Thomas (2008). Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe. University of Chicago Press. p. 348.
  7. ^ Moon, Tom (9 May 1991). "'Lion of Zimbabwe' at Chestnut Cabaret". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E5.
  8. ^ "Billboard Report". Fanfare. Newsday. Billboard. 30 June 1991. p. 20.
  9. ^ Cornwell, Jane (13 Mar 2000). "Lion Heart". The Guardian. p. 2.12.
  10. ^ Eyre, Banning (2015). Lion Songs: Thomas Mapfumo and the Music That Made Zimbabwe. Duke University Press.
  11. ^ Chipendo, Claudio (2022). Indigenous African Popular Music, Volume 1. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. p. 324.
  12. ^ Ragland, Cathy (April 12, 1991). "Mapfumo Is Keeping the Flame for a Unified, Free Africa". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 38.
  13. ^ "Chamunorwa Review by Adam Greenberg". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  14. ^ a b Heim, Chris (21 Mar 1991). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  15. ^ "Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  16. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 491.
  17. ^ MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 482.
  18. ^ a b Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 239, 240.
  19. ^ Considine, J.D. (15 Mar 1991). "Chamunorwa Thomas Mapfumo". Features. The Baltimore Sun. p. 6.
  20. ^ Wartofsky, Alona (15 May 1991). "Thomas Mapfumo". The Washington Post. p. B7.
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