Bundance Mutori was only 14 years old when he started playing with other Mokoomba members. It was 2002 when they were both at Mosi Oa-Tunya High, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. He recalls that their greatest problem was getting instruments. He says that they didn’t own any instruments, and that even though there was a music class at school, we didn’t have any keyboards or guitars. My dad played in church, had a bass guitar at his home and taught me how to play. I started practicing by myself, or with the guys. Mokoomba, now in their 20s, are being hailed as Africa’s most successful young band. This is a remarkable rise. They come from a country that has seen its international musical profile decline since the 1980s, in large part due to Aids. They were considered outsiders even in Zimbabwe. They sing in Tonga (a language most Shona or Ndebele speakers don’t understand) and are from a tourist border city that’s 12 hours from Harare. From Www.theguardian.com
