rattletree Videos

A song from Rattletree Marimba's live set at Boulder Theater 6/26/09 at Zimfest 09. Video shot by Doug Epps and Mark Cohen. Audio off the board at Boulder Theater Special thanks to Zimfest 09 in Boulder-what a great time! www.rattletree.com

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Love Ourselves

Don't recognize ourselves Fighting for the Answer Then we split ourselves Looking for the difference And then we fight ourselves Trying to be stronger And then we hate ourselves Because we've killed our brother Feeding off the anger as the balance of life shifts And yet we credit it to luck.

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Kanotamba Mubani played on matepe

Kanotamba Mubani means something small dancing in the veld. Like a little bird flying in a valley. This refers to the spirit of a deceased person who has not had the proper ceremonies performed for their spirit to return to become an ancestral spirit for their family. So they fly aimlessly. I like to think that we play this song to help those spirits find their way back to their families. This was taught to me by Sekuru Chaka Chawasarira, but it's been several years now, so I do my own ...

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Muchenjedza Mutonga part 2

The matepe is a beautiful instrument. Sorry for the ocassional sound of cars driving by...

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Buka Tiende- Kushaura taught by Newton Gwara

This is a version taught to me by Newton Gwara when we were living and playing together in 1999-2001. In his interesting way of twisting the traditional lyrics, he sings about the 'Nhengure' bird. "Buka Tiende' means "Wake up, let's go", and the Nhengure is a bird that sings early in the morning. He sings about how he hears the bird singing so he knows it is time to leave for kumusha (the village). You can hear his Studio recording of this song on his album, Nhengure, found here: www ...

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