Chikwata 263

Chikwata 263 are a four-piece band comprising Hector (mbira), Tomas (guitar), Ray (bass) and Blessing (drums). Together they blend the ancient mbira with modern rhythms to create an irreverent yet authentic hybrid: Mbira-Punk. The band came together in 2011 with influences ranging from Thomas Mapfumo and Burning Spear to Rancid and Bloc Party. Though their music is cloaked in the playful vernacular of songs about children slipping on banana skins, watching out for crocodiles in the river, shoes with holes in them and Shona word games, there is an incisive social commentary in their songs, which provide a sincere take on life in modern-day Zimbabwe.

Though working on their first studio album, the band is first and foremost a live act and need to be seen on stage to be truly appreciated. Their live performances are an energetic blend of buzz-saw guitar, machine-gun drumming, eerily melodic mbira, booming dendera basslines and howling lyrics in a mixture of Shona and English. They played at the Chimanimani Arts Festival and the Zimbabwe Youth Festival in 2011 and have since shared a stage with the likes of Oliver Mtukudzi, Sulumani, Andy Brown, Transit Crew, Chiwoniso and Victor Kunonga.