Photo: RNZ
For so many of us in the diaspora the music we grew up immersed in and for some, trained in, remains a bedrock to our lives here in New Zealand. Whether its Samba, gospel or Hindustani classical music, the sounds of our childhood continue in ways to inform choices, stir up memories and for many help actually make new tracks in a new home.
Jabulani a.k.a Jay Moyo, talks about his musical upbringing in this episode of Back to Basics with Kadambari Raghukumar.
Jabulani, mostly known as Jay, is a bassist from Auckland mostly seen playing with afrojazz artists like Thabani Gapara, and other musicians and amapiano producers like Warren Duncan. But despite the wide spectrum he covers as a musician, his upbringing is steeped in the sounds of Zimbabwe that always take him back to the basics. Zimbabwean gospel, sungura and mbira were staple sounds in Jay's childhood, growing up in the family of a church pastor.
Speaking in the interview on Here Now, Jay said of the storytelling and complexity involved in mbira sungura songs and melodies, "It's very, very complex music, very complex rhythms. It's something that, you know, if the international world really understood how complex to play that music is it would be respected."
Jay looks back on the influence greats like Oliver Mtukudzi had on the modern Zim music scene and says, "these are legends within Zimbabwe you know, just the mention of their name resonates within Zimbabwe. This is the music that plays at our traditional ceremonies at weddings etc."
Growing up flipping tapes in his father's the car - it was mostly sungura and mbira music. Jay recalls roadtrips that involved seemingly unending songs, " most of it because it's storytelling, a lot of the songs are almost seven minutes long, ten minutes long. They have a dance break, an acapella point. So soon enough when you've gone through the tape, you have reached your destination," he laughs.
