Recording: Moyo Mutamba

Artist: Moyo Mutamba

Song: Rhinoceros Song

Recorded at Monarch Tavern, August 8, 2019.

Moyo Mutamba - Rhinoceros Song

Laura Barrett's adaptation of the kalimba allowed her to sidestep piano-pop orthodoxy in her aughties ascendance — and though she's pivoted away from the instrument in her recent work, she nevertheless took the opportunity at this release show to share the stage with one of the thumb piano's noteworthy local players. Besides his formidable technique on mbira (the kalimba's Zimbabwean cousin), Rainos Moyo Mutamba has grown more comfortable on stage, confidently telling the audience the stories behind the songs, and assuring them that the tunes have some good jokes in the lyrics, as long as you speak Shona. Playing alongside some video footage from his childhood home, this had the feel of a friendly travelogue, sharing with Barrett's set a sense of nostalgia and carefully-considered meditation as to "where I'm from".