THE ZAWOSE QUEENS with Jazzin The Park DJs & special guests TBA

Soaring chizeze fiddle, buzzing illimba thumb piano, ngoma drums that chatter & thunder - a blend of the organic, harmonic & modern-day electronic...

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The Ferret presents

THE ZAWOSE QUEENS
(of the Tanzanian Wagogo people)

with Jazzin The Park DJs & special guests TBA

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Sat 18th Jan 2025
The Ferret, Preston
Doors 7pm

Tickets on sale now.

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The Zawose Queens are Leah and Pendo Zawose of the Tanzanian Wagogo people, whose joyous otherworldly vocals and polyphonic rhythms deftly blend the acoustic, electronic, traditional and modern.

There is spirit and fire in the music of The Zawose Queens. There’s the vibrations of the ancestors, coming through on traditional instruments — soaring chizeze fiddle, buzzing illimba thumb piano, ngoma drums that chatter and thunder — and voices that go deep, high and out there. There’s the connection to nature, to ceremony and ritual, in their dance-inspired fusion, their blend of the organic, harmonic and modern-day electronic. There are lyrics that tell, in their native kigogo, of the passion for music, the wonders of life. Of pride in environment, in tradition. In their East African roots.

Pendo and Leah Zawose showcase the fluid polyrhythms and rapturous polyphonic singing of the Gogo (aka Wagogo) people of the arid, hilly Dodoma region of central Tanzania. The most famous exponent of this musical tradition is the late, great Dr Hukwe Zawose (Pendo’s father and Leah’s grandfather).

Maisha, the debut album by The Zawose Queens, marks the first time that women from this famous musical family take their place as lead vocalists and performers. Emboldened by workshops in songwriting and music production with visiting UK-based producers Oli Barton-Wood (Jordan Rakei, Obongjayar, Nilufer Yanya) and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Onipa), The Zawose Queens began writing their first ever songs. The resulting collection of songs range from the stripped back and traditional-sounding to those treated with subtle electronic elements, with beats and drops and found sounds and switch-ups.

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with guest DJs from Jazzin The Park Productions bringing the heat, with a satisfying stew of Afrobeat, House, Jazz, Soul, Latin, Boogie, Disco, Jazz-Funk, African, Broken Beat, Electronica & more.

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The Ferret presents

THE ZAWOSE QUEENS
(of the Tanzanian Wagogo people)

with Jazzin The Park DJs & special guests TBA

Sat 18th Jan 2025
The Ferret, Preston
Doors 7pm

Tickets on sale now.

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All ages welcome (under 18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult).
Accessible ground floor venue & facilities.