Songbird Raven Duchess has unveiled the cover of her latest Indigo album. The self-produced album has six tracks Ndatetereka, Mayo, Zarurai Masango, Dziva re Njuzu, Chaminuka and Sunshine Vibes.
The artiste revealed plans to release two singles on radio this month: Dziva re Njuzu, a collaborative jazz-folk fusion song with acclaimed guitarist and producer Louis Mhlanga who played the lead guitar, and Sunshine Vibes featuring local hip-hop artistes R Peels and Dough Major. The complete album will be available online in early December.
She applauded Mhlanga's unwavering support and guidance throughout the project.
“He was very supportive and added his lovely guitar lines. The song is a poetic interpretation of how people perceive the folklore about the mystical mermaid creatures. I appreciate every musician who played on this album adding their phenomenal talent to create a timeless album. I was very hands-on with this album and produced all the songs,” the artiste said
Wisdom and intuition are the inspiration behind her latest work. “The colour indigo is often associated with tranquility and the mysteries of the universe. The shakers/maracas percussion represents an ancient Zimbabwean musical rhythm instrument that has been passed down from generation to generation,” she told NewsDay Life & Style. Indigo is her third album after Ethno Vibes (2021) and Folklore (2023). It was mixed and mastered by record producer Boy Tricky. Jazz prodigy Josh Meck plays bass and features on Chaminuka.
The Sofar Sounds Harare alumnus had been on the road and made appearances at three music festivals first performing at The Music Imbizo Festival in Durban, South Africa, in August.
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In September she was invited to the Bayimba International Arts Festival in Uganda before playing at the Urban Music People Festival in Cape Mangochi, Malawi, last month.
While in Malawi, she shared the stage with Malawian dancehall artiste Chizmo Njuchi.
“It was an intriguing tour. I got to collaborate with resident bands at these festivals. Every band had amazing chemistry with me and the audience in South Africa, Uganda and Malawi.”
On December 29 she will be performing at the five-day Victoria Falls Festival of the Arts taking place at the River Brewing Company. Some of the artistes who are scheduled to perform include Bananas for Change, Desert Lemonade, Madala Ndau, Flying Bantu, Kela Trio and Witchdokta, among others.
This Saturday, Raven Duchess performs with her band at a jazz and painting evening show at C U Latte Cafè and Cocktail Bar in Chisipite.