The Zawose Queens, from the city of Bagamoyo in Tanzania, East Africa, have announced details of a tour of the UK and Europe this summer in support of their forthcoming debut album Maisha. The album is a long-awaited first release by female members of one of Tanzania’s most famous musical families. They have also shared a second single from the album, ‘Mapendo’.
Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania. The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose (Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).
Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first time that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. Emboldened by workshops in songwriting and music production with visiting UK-based producers Oli Barton-Wood and Tom Excell (who will also join them on stage) The Zawose Queens began writing their first ever songs. The resulting collection of songs range from the stripped back and traditional-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic elements, with beats and drops and found sounds and switch-ups.
European Tour Dates:
22 JUN SHOREHAM-BY-SEA Ropetackle Arts
23 JUN LIVERPOOL Africa Oyé Festival
28 JUN PILTON Glastonbury Festival
29 JUN PILTON Glastonbury Festival
02 JUL LAUSANNE Festival de la Cité
05 JUL BRISTOL Wake The Tiger
06 JUL GOTHENBERG Clandestino Festival
07 JUL MALMÖ Festival
11 JUL MANCHESTER Ramona
13 JUL CORNWALL Tropical Pressure
16 JUL LONDON Dalston Curve Garden
19 JUL DANZIG Globaltica
26 JUL WILTSHIRE WOMAD Festival
27 JUL THISTED Alive Festival
03 AUG COPENHAGEN Badesøen Festival
Photo credit – Micheal Mbwambo