HARARE – The late mbira musician Chiwoniso Maraire is set to get a new lease of life with the release of a collaborative album with poet Chirikure Chirikure, which comes 12 years after her death.
The album, recorded in 2008 and titled Chimanimani, faced several delays over the years, largely due to financial constraints and the death of Maraire.
In an interview, Chirikure Chirikure said the release of the album was a labour of love, as the project had been beset by setbacks since its recording in 2008.
“It has taken so long because many factors came into play. Firstly, the finances and studio expenses consumed most of our resources. Then I had to attend a programme in Germany, and during that time, Chiwoniso sadly passed away.
“The original studio eventually shut down, and it took time to trace the engineers and retrieve the material,” he said.
“We then sat down with Keith Farquharson with his new studio Bridgenorth who readily took the product onboard and so we are going to publish it under the Bridgenorth label.”
The renowned poet revealed that proceeds from the album due to Chiwoniso would go to her family.
“As things stand Chengeto is the one who has the estate of her mother. Chengeto Maraire Brown will be receiving any proceeds that come through from the album.
“We have all the paperwork being prepared by the studio and relevant authorities like ZIMURA we will also be approaching them,” he added.
