Thomas Mapfumo

In a deep voice, Thomas Mapfumo speaks slowly and authoritatively from his home in Oregon, considering every word carefully before pronouncing it. It's hardly surprising considering the gravity of many of the topics that he touches on, but what is impressive is the warmth that still persists in the voice of the man known as 'The Lion Of Zimbabwe'.

A legend in his native land, he was forced to leave for his own safety a number of years ago, but it is still the dominant focus of his music. Developed as he updated traditional sounds by transcribing the mbira (thumb piano) parts to electric guitar and adding horns and a drum kit, his signature style now incorporates live mbira players as well. The cyclical, pulsing rhythms and melodies are also accompanied by lyrics that are still largely sung in his native Shona language.

In the late 70s, Mapfumo's music was a vital part of the revolutionary movement that helped to overthrow the racist and repressive Smith regime - so much so that his music was labelled chimurenga, Shona for "struggle." That is still what his music is called, and it's apt given his disapproval of Robert Mugabe's abuses of power. Of course, that regime is not one to take criticism lightly, but despite the fact that they've banned him from the state airwaves, he is still very much a man of the people.

"There are a very few of them who think I'm like an enemy of Zimbabwe," he says philosophically, speaking even of those in power. "But the rest of them know that I'm a positive man and whatever I'm singing about is the truth and no-one can stop that, because people love my music and I have a lot of fans even in the army, the police, ordinary people in the street. They love my music - they try not to play the music on the radio, it doesn't matter, people still go out to buy the music from the shops, so a lot of people do respect me in Zimbabwe."

Despite the obvious focus on events in his native land, however, Mapfumo is certainly not immune to the wider problems that affect the world at large. "It's not only what is happening in Zimbabwe," he deliberately points out, "there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed in this world. The world is full of mad people now, the world is not at peace and the world is becoming a no-go area. So it's not for Zimbabwe only, it's for the rest of the world."

It's for this reason that he's trying to broaden his reach by translating some of his songs from Shona - "I have a few songs that I re-did in English, and I'm sure I'm gonna play them when I come over there" - and performing them live with his ten-piece band The Sounds Of Blackness.

Unsurprisingly, the 62-year old finds it difficult to separate his music from the message that he so often conveys, though it is something that he manages occasionally. "I have a very few love songs and some songs which are actually not political and well," he pauses for emphasis before finishing gravely, "they're just very few."

The major reason for this is simply that much of his time is spent considering the things in the world that he would like to be different. "I still think of important issues, political issues, like what is happening in Zimbabwe today where you hear that there are going to be elections in Zimbabwe and you ask yourself 'what are these elections for?', because so far the people of Zimbabwe are suffering, they actually need change... What is happening today is not good for our people, so actually we need someone who is positive, someone who is there for the people, someone who wants to wait for the people. We don't want self-centred people, people who don't think of their own people."

As for the future of his country, and indeed the world, Mapfumo doesn't know what is coming but realises that his own part in creating change is coming to an end. "Really, I am getting old, as you know, and very soon maybe I'm going to stop singing and start doing something else. But still, I really want to see Zimbabwe become a free country where there's freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and actually real democracy should be practiced in Zimbabwe."

Alexis Buxton-Collins

Thomas Mapfumo & The Sounds Of Blackness play at the Governor Hindmarsh on Wed 23 Apr