Rendezvous with Mbira Player and Singer Hope Masike

Mbira player and singer Hope Masike continues to captivate audiences both in Zimbabwe and abroad with her music. She was interviewed by TRT World as part of ‘Rendezvous’, a series of short portraits of prominent artists and intellectuals around the world.

About Hope Masike

Masike takes pride in together-blending mbira (an otherwise purely traditional instrument) with different music styles. Her music is a hybrid of Mbira, Jazz and AfroPop. Much as she is commonly known for her voice and mbira-playing, Hope Masike also plays several African percussion and dances too. She has two albums to her name and numerous tour and collaboration credits.These include her involvement with the Norwegian transcultural outfit called Monoswezi, a 2015 live collaboration with Salif Keita in Harare and many more. Hope’s sultry voice, sublime Mbira/Jazz/Afro fusion and eclectic, highly-charged performances have earned her critical acclaim and fans worldwide. Her work, collaborative and otherwise, has earned her several accolades ranging from being the’Outstanding Female Musician’ of the year in 2013 and Best Music video of 2015 for the Zimbabwean national awards NAMA, nominations for Songlines World Music Awards, Zimbabwe Achievers Awards, to her 2016 nomination for a KORA Award on her song ‘Huyai Tinamate’. She has also been interviewed by CNN Newsroom, BBC, SABC’s Morning Live, ZTV’s Good Morning Zimbabwe and on numerous other platforms in Zimbabwe and abroad. Masike holds a National Certificate in Applied Art and Design, a diploma in Fine Arts and a degree in Music. Currently, Hope Masike is working on her third album due for release mid-2017. In the meantime, besides rehearsing with her band and performing locally and abroad, she spends her time on knowledge transfer, visiting schools in Zimbabwe to talk about music, music business and the culture of Zimbabwe. – www.hopemasike.co.zw

You can find Hope’s music easily online if you’ve not heard it before. We have also previously featured her adventurous song of mixing mbira with Sungura music.