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Forward Kwenda is a mbira performer from Zimbabwe. [1] He was given the name "Forward" for his involvement in many activities and his performances for guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. [2]
He was born in the rural Buhera area of Manicaland. As a young boy, Forward was interested in traditional dance and the recitation of ancient poetry. At the age of 10, he began to play ngoma (drums) and hosho (gourd rattles) for his mother's 'gombwe (rain-making) spirit'. At an early age, Forward borrowed a mbira and self-learned with the occasional radio programs.
In 1984, Kwenda moved to Zimbabwe's capital city of Harare and began to play mbira with other musicians. Within a year, he had formed his own mbira group and was making records and performing on national radio,[ citation needed ] as well as performing constantly at mapira ceremonies. During this period, he claimed that he was informed by powerful rain-making spirits that he was to devote his life to playing mbira for their ceremonies. He was known for bringing the "desired spirits" to a ceremony by the end of the first ceremony song.
In 1985, Forward began playing in a style considered in Shona culture to be "more ancient because spirits prefer it." This style was first recorded in 1985 and 1986 by his American friend Glenn Makuna, who dubbed Kwenda "the Coltrane of mbira". The makombwe, believed to be the ancestors of all mankind, supposedly prefer Kwenda's ancient style and come to earth as soon as he begins playing his mbira. Kwenda claims, "It's not me, my spirits just play through me."
Asked about his experience playing mbira, Forward responds: [3]
When I pick up my mbira, I don't know what is going to happen. The music just goes by itself, taking me higher and higher until I can end up crying because the music is so much greater than a human being can understand... I just have to get out of the way so spirits can make my mbira play—it isn't me—I'm just amazed.
In 1997, Kwenda toured the United States with Erica Azim, and recorded the Shanachie CD Svikiro: Meditations of an Mbira Master. In February 2000, Kwenda performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, with Erica Azim and toured North America with her during 2000, 2001 and 2002.
In 2019, Kwenda coauthored the book Learn to Play Mbira : Traditional Songs and Improvisation with the author Andy Fowler. On January 1, 2020, they launched the mbira master video and tablature archiving project mbira.online, within which Forward is the predominant tutor and performer. Forward and Andy now work together at Mbira Magic with the goal of promoting mbira music and creating employment for Zimbabwean musicians.
Mbira are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs, the right forefinger, and sometimes the left forefinger. Musicologists classify it as a lamellaphone, part of the plucked idiophone family of musical instruments. In Eastern and Southern Africa, there are many kinds of mbira, often accompanied by the hosho, a percussion instrument. It is often an important instrument played at religious ceremonies, weddings, and other social gatherings. The "Art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe" was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
Zimbabwean music is heavily reliant on the use of instruments such as the mbira, Ngoma drums and hosho. Their music symbolizes much more than a simple rhythm, as the folk and pop style styled music was used as a symbol of hope for Zimbabweans looking to gain independence from Rhodesia. Music has played a significant role in the history of Zimbabwe, from a vital role in the traditional Bira ceremony used to call on ancestral spirits, to protest songs during the struggle for independence. The community in Zimbabwe used music to voice their resistance to their oppression, as one of the only weapons they had available to fight back with. In the eighties, the Music of Zimbabwe was at the center of the African Music scene thanks to genres such as Sungura and Jit. However, several performers were banned by state TV and radio leading to the closing of several music venues.
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