Insingizi Emnyama was established in 1987 at Sobukhazi Secondary School and specialised in the Ladysmith Black Mambazo style of music Mbube and traditional dances like Indlamu Isitshikitsha and ´Gumboot dance´.
In the early 1990s Insingizi Emnyama became famous in their home country through staging concerts nationally and winning several prizes. In the summer of 1995 Insingizi Emnyama were invited to do concert tours in Austria, Slovenia and Denmark. In the same year they recorded their first album which was a hit on Zimbabwean radio with the hit single ´Sugar Daddy´ in Denmark. The song is about an elderly promiscuous businessman who contracts AIDS. “Sugar Daddy” deliberately infects young unsuspecting girls whom he attracts with cash and his Mercedes Benz. His motto: “I can´t die alone so let me fix others.” In 1996 another album called Sihlale Sonke was released followed by Sengikhumbula (1997).
After the successful participation in a festival called Sura Za Afrika which took place in almost all provinces of Austria in the summer of 1996 the group decided to be officially based in Graz, Austria. The group members started to study music theory and different western music instruments such as piano, violin, accordion, etc.
The aim of the musicians was to build their own Cultural Arts Center and School in Zimbabwe where young artists could learn and improve their skills. The idea was to promote arts and culture in and outside of Zimbabwe providing employment and creating bridges with other countries by cultural exchange programmes. In April 2000 the group visited Zimbabwe to prepare the construction of the center unfortunately political problems and economic hardships made it impossible to begin the first phase of the proposed Arts center.
The group financed the stay in Austria through successful performances all over Austria and in Germany. Insingizi Emnyama has been engaged in projects on stage and in studios with famous Austrian and international musicians.
For their LP Bridges (1999) Insingizi Emnyama used instrumental accompaniment (guitars, keyboards, saxophones, etc.) for the first time but unfortunately this album was not successful in comparison with the previous a cappella and percussion recordings.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
