Zig-Zag Band’s spirit lives on
THE combination of husky vocals and the unique reggae beat fused with an African contemporary flair, quickly reminds one of the Zig-Zag Band.
No one could, however, miss the Chigiyo beat which was also made unique by the blowing of a unique trumpet to accompany the otherwise already different style of the Kwekwebased outfit.
Not only was the music unique to the group, but their modus operandi also differed from the rest.
It is one group that had disorder as its trade mark. One group that would have members spread among the revellers, each conducting their own shenanigans and would meet on stage for performances.
In some instances, it would take close to an hour for all the members of the band to be on stage for a performance which they would also use as a platform to pen new songs during a show.
Their unique and unpopular style of doing things made the group a household name as people fell in love with their way of doing things. They rose to become one of the popular bands not only in the country but on the continent.
But above all, their music gave them more fame than they could handle, their music went regional if not global.
Close to a decade after the demise of most of the band members, most bands have tried to fill in the big shoes left behind by the seven-member band that had been led by Emmanuel Nkomo, but fell by the wayside as they failed to match blow-by-blow the standard left behind by the Gomo Remasare hit-makers.
Thomas Mapfumo’s bassist Gilbert Zvamaida is the only surviving member of the Zig-Zag Band.
But it seems newly-formed Bass Combo has struck the right chord and seem on course to filling the big shoes left behind by the great Zig-Zag Band.
The seven-member band, just like Zig Zag, hails from Amaveni, and they surely cannot miss the beat as the band comprises siblings to most of the late Zig-Zag members.
The band manager, Madison Phiri, at one time had a stint with the ZigZag Band.
In a quest to revive chigiyo music, Bass Combo is set to launch its first offering in July.
“We have so far released three singles, Jee, Medley and Toridhoviza whilst we are mastering and putting final touches of the other three tracks before the official release of the album,” said Phiri.
Veteran producer, Clive Mono Mkundu of Monolio Studios is the group’s producer.
Phiri said their aim is to fill in the chigiyo music void that has not been been filled for a quite some time.
“In reviving chigiyo music, we also want to restore lost cultural traditions which were eroded by bubble-gum music.
“As you are aware, our brothers were social commentators and socialites, we are following their path and we seek to address social ills and restore our cultural values and identity ,” he said.
In one of the tracks ‘‘Jee’’, the band implores traditional leaders and elders to play their roles in promoting ethics, morals and values.
In ‘‘Medley’’, the group paid tribute to their late siblings as they combined songs by the late singers Forward ever, Chaita Mumwe and Gomo Ramasare into one track.
Phiri said Bass Combo would soon be launching its live shows which they say will run concurrently with their first anniversary.
“We would have loved to commemorate our first anniversary, not only with an album but by commencing live show performances. We have more than 10 songs that we have written since our formation,” said Phiri.
On discipline, Phiri said the band has a strict constitution that the band follows.
“We learnt a lot from the way our brothers handled themselves, so we are definitely not going to repeat the same mistake. We are actually going to take notes from their story and do something positive,” Phiri said.
It remains to be seen whether Bass Combo will do enough to match the standard left behind by their late brothers who were on record for giving polished acts despite going for months without rehearsing.