Monday 6 October 2014

Thomas Mapfumo on 45 - More Chimurenga Hits!

Thomas Mapfumo in the mid seventies with the Acid band
Much has been written about Thomas Mapfumo and his role in the evolution of indigenous Zimbabwean popular music. The web has a multitude of resources which can be easily accessed. Today electricjive follows up its earlier post from over two years ago with more of his early material that was mostly released on seven inch 45rpm format.

The highly recommended album releases by Thomas Mapfumo from this period include: Hokoyo!, Gwindingwe Rine Shumba, Ndangariro and Mabasa. Seek them out!

Tracklisting (in rough chronological order from circa 1977-1985)
01. Yarira Nerha (Jukebox Whitelabel) as "Thomas Mapfumo"
02. Imhere (AS 1040), as "The Blacks Unlimited"
03. Pamuromo Chete (AS 1050), with the Acid Band
04. Dindingwe (AS1058), with the Pied Pipers
05. Zvandiviringa (AS1088), as "Thomas Mapfumo"
06. Nyathi (AS1104), with the Blacks Unlimited
07. Shumba (AS1109), with the Blacks Unlimited
08. Rita (AS1110), with the Blacks Unlimited
09. Pidigori (AS1114), with the Blacks Unlimited
10. Paridzai (AS1115) with the Blacks Unlimited
11. Haruna (AS1118) with the Blacks Unlimited
12. Nhamo Yapera (AS1119) with the Blacks Unlimited
13. Nyamutavagu Nemombe (AS 1125) with the Blacks Unlimited
14. Ngoma XXXX(AS1126) with the Blacks Unlimited

Streaming link:


Download link: Mediafire

Enjoy !







17 comments:

  1. Many thanks, Matt - always glad to see more vintage Mapfumo, but a small problem - mediafire has blocked the file as ""Ngoma Yekwedu" by Thomas Mapfumo may be available for download from Amazon." Any chance of fixing the download? Many thanks in advance, Dave Sez.

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  2. Cancel the above comment, it must be a Mediafire mistake, as I could now download the file and anyway Ngoma Yekwedu wasn't on your list of tracks ... thanks again, Matt, for the vintage Mapfumo! Cheers, Dave Sez.

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  3. Thanks for sharing, Yarira Nerha is a killer piece!!!

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  4. Thank you very much. Is there a chance the earlier post from 2012 can be re-uploaded? I'm afraid I must hear more Mapfumo now!

    Thanks all the same,

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  5. Many thanks, Matt. Fantastic stuff.

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  6. Fantastic, looking forward to listening to this. Mapfumo is a real favorite. Sorry i missed the first Thomas mix too, although i do have most of the albums listed so maybe i have the majority of those tracks? I can confirm that the links are dead. Matt--did you see that strut is releasing a good bit of the Malombo material later this month? Can't wait for that! Thanks again for posting this gem.

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  7. Here's a fresh link to those old files...http://www.mediafire.com/download/o4cec5sekue6i5w/AfroSoul.zip

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    1. Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to make available again, it's much appreciated.Do you know if Strut's Malombo release is all work w/o Philip Tabane? That's the feeling i get from looking at it but haven't picked it up as of yet.

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    2. Hi David, The new Malombo double CD on Strut is primarily the Julian Bahula side of Malombo... no Tabane. It a great compilation!!!!

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    3. Yes, i'm enjoying it, finally picked it up this week! Lucky Ranku is pretty great on the guitar as well. Hopefully they will do the Tabane side of things in the future. It all should be in print...let's hope this one sells well enough. Finally just listened to the SA vocal group backed by Dudu Pukwana, etc. And it was pretty sweet! Thanks for all the great posts!!

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  8. The Jukebox RebelTuesday, October 21, 2014

    Cheers for this Matt, some great rarities.

    "Pamuromo Chete" is all-time classic Mapfumo business.

    I googled it to see what it was about. Turns out you told us about it a couple of years ago! (rolls eyes) Matt Temple notes: "The first "chimurenga single" where Thomas Mapfumo responds directly to the then white ruler Ian Smith's declaration that Zimbabwe will never be ruled by Africans. His response - Pamuromo Chete - "this is just mere talk"."

    Pistols weren't the only revolutionaries in '77, eh?

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  9. Thank you for this and the re-up of the earlier post; much appreciated!

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  10. The Prophet himself, all his preachings, teachings, predictions have come true to the last full stop. All his songs have been a chronology of Zimbabwe's rise and fall. They will never come as pure , and true at Thomas Mapfumo. He was always ahead of all and is well abreat with the suffering of the massess. Robert Mugabe fears not him but his message. He is Zimbabwe's No/1. He has kept politics ticking , his music is the fuel for a revolution. Tumira Vana Kuhondo!!!!

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  11. Please can you re-load the link, fantastic tracks, for me the groovy "Imhere" kills me. I grew up in a house where listening to Thomas Mapfumo was part of our homework. I grew up listening to bands such as Dr Footswitch, Pied Pipers, Jobs Combination, Eye Of Liberty, I remember as early as 1976 sneaking into the Garden Party , Kambuzuma, Seven Miles and Skyline Motels and other places such as Club High Doubt and the famous Mushandira Pamwe Hotel. for an all night session with Mapfumo. I was 14 at the time. In The early 80's when I joined the Air Force of Zimbabwe as a young aircraft apprentice I followed Mukanya or Gandanga, with my late friend Aaron Chisangowerota all over Zimbabwe, Gwero, Kwekwe you name it except one gig in Bulawayo where Thomas was chased from the stage by elements of the then Zapu for playing the songs Nyamutamba Ne Mombe and Nyarai Kana Makundwa. Political tensions were ver high at this time leading to the period os the Matebeleland Massacres infamoulsy know as Gukurahundi. After this I do not remember Mukanya playing in Bulawayo fro a long long time. Aaron and myself were his disciples.He is a Prophet, Spiritual Leader, Philosopher, sooth sayer, and to some like Robert Mugabe a bearer of bad news. He draws parallels to icons such as Bob Marley, Nelson Mandela, Malcom X, Marcus Garvey and many other black heroes. There is no middle ground with Mukanya, it's either you love him or hate him, you have to have a good understanding of Zimbabwe and African politics, history and future to understand and appreciate the immense and immeasurable depth of the philosophy in his music. I saw Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi and Tineyi Chikupo play in my home area Chinamhora Domboshava Shopping Centre in the same band if not as Mawonera Superstars it was some band playing in the still Mverechena Hotel. I am one of the few living individuals who saw Thomas Mapfumo revolutinise himself from Bands such as Hallelujah Chicken runn to the now humongous Blacks Unlimited. Please can you re-load the link.

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  12. Please can you re load the link to Thomas Mapfumo On 45

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  13. You can listen here: https://www.mixcloud.com/matttemple/thomas-mapfumo-on-45-early-chimurenga-singles/

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