Double Check- Two Sides Of Zimbabwe’s Mbira Queen
Stella Chiweshe was the first PIRANHA recording artist way back in 1987. On her first double album she is travelling on one path in two directions. In her TRANCE HITS, she journeys through the world of her ancestors, preserving their traditions. With her CLASSIC HITS she revisits the urban streets in Harare and calls on the younger, westernised generation to take pride in their own culture.
TRANCE HITS is the completely new recording Stella created in Zimbabwe under most difficult circumstances. A very spiritual album with references to spirits, a policeman possessed by the sounds of the m'bira, and a singing fish, it also includes a song she dreamed her grandmother was singing to her. The sublime spirituality of this album is balanced by the more worldly compilation CLASSIC HITS which features re-released tracks with The Earthquake, her vintage band, and produced by a choice selection of luminaries including John Peel, Hijaz Mustapha (aka Ben Mandelson) and Colin Bass. It also features a special guest appearance of the rhythm section of much missed UK cult innovators 3 Mustaphas 3.
Reviews
"Stella Chiweshe - Mystic Sounds from Inner Space
If colonialism is on its last gasp, in Rhodesia, it seems capable of holding its breath for a very long time. It’s the early 1950s and an eight-year-old girl can hear drums, loud powerful drums, that rock her world and accompany the mbira she is listening to. Only, no one else can hear the drums."
www.fly.co.uk
"A double CD from 5tella Chiweshe, one labelled Trance Hits, the other Classic Hits. So much is clear. But listen as I might, it's surprisingly difficult to arrange any critical thoughts about her music. It exists so much in itself, a complete system, upfront and straightforward for all but still magical and elusive, that it's hard to listen to it in any other spirit than t....... more
Na swej pierwszej podwójnej płycie Stella Chiweshe podąża w dwóch kierunkach. CD 1 zatytułowany TRANCE HITS, to wędrówka do świata przodków artystki – próba zachowania swojej tradycji. CD 2 – CLASSIC HITS to wycieczka po współczesnych ulicach Harare, ukazująca młode, zafascynowane Zachodem pokolenie. Jest to próba zachęcenia młodych do poznania swej własnej kultury, bo bycia z niej dumnym.
Wydawnictwo zawiera 10 nowych utworów, i 12 wydanych ponownie. Produkcją materiału zajęli się: John Peel, Ben Mandelson, Colin Bass, a gościnnie wystąpiła sekcja rytmiczna legendarnej grupy 3 Mustaphas 3.
Double Check- Two Sides Of Zimbabwe’s Mbira Queen
Stella Chiweshe was the first PIRANHA recording artist way back in 1987. On her first double album she is travelling on one path in two directions. In her TRANCE HITS, she journeys through the world of her ancestors, preserving their traditions. With her CLASSIC HITS she revisits the urban streets in Harare and calls on the younger, westernised generation to take pride in their own culture.
TRANCE HITS is the completely new recording Stella created in Zimbabwe under most difficult circumstances. A very spiritual album with references to spirits, a policeman possessed by the sounds of the m'bira, and a singing fish, it also includes a song she dreamed her grandmother was singing to her. The sublime spirituality of this album is balanced by the more worldly compilation CLASSIC HITS which features re-released tracks with The Earthquake, her vintage band, and produced by a choice selection of luminaries including John Peel, Hijaz Mustapha (aka Ben Mandelson) and Colin Bass. It also features a special guest appearance of the rhythm section of much missed UK cult innovators 3 Mustaphas 3.