ZIMBABWEAN songbird Raven Duchess will be performing at The Music Imbizo festival scheduled to run from August 28 to 31 at The Chairman and The Werehouse in Durban, South Africa.
The songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer has also been invited to perform at the Bayimba International Arts Festival in Uganda from September 11 to 15 and the Urban Music People Festival in Cape Mangochi, Malawi from October 25 to 28.
“It’s an honor to represent Zimbabwe at these international festivals,” she told Standard Style. She has released two albums to date: Ethno Vibes (2021) and Folklore (2023), with the latter blending jazz and mbira folk music. The artist is readying herself for the release of her third album, Indigo (wisdom and intuition) with the launch date yet to be confirmed.
Her distinctive vocal technique is characterised by a jazzy, soulful tone, with a flexible vocal range spanning from contralto to mezzo-soprano. She can sing on both high and low notes and has a soft, but bright voice with a clear and delicate quality.
Award-winning guitarist and producer Louis Mhlanga played the lead guitar on the track Dziva re Njuzu. “We met up in Johannesburg and discussed a collaboration,” she revealed. She was also featured on CNN discussing their collaboration when the news channel profiled the jazz maestro on its African Voices of Change programme.
The song is a fusion of jazz and Zimbabwean folk song melodies sung in English and vernacular. “It’s a poetic song about a mystical creature (mermaid). Now and then, we hear folk stories of how people think mermaids exist, yet no one has ever seen one. It describes how people perceive the mermaid and the folk stories we were told growing up. It's an interpretation of the popular folk of mermaids, which every race has, yet no one has ever seen this mystical creature,” she said.
She composed and produced all the songs on the album. It was mixed and mastered by Record producer Boy Tricky. Jazz prodigy Josh Meck plays bass and features on another track titled Chaminuka.
All the instruments on the album comprising tenor saxophone, guitars, mbira, drums, maracas and chimes were recorded live. “It’s a very interesting album. It has a lot of songs that sound very poetic which is my signature mark when I am writing songs, they are very poetic as they always have a meaningful story behind them.”
- Raven Duchess in triple festival debut
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While there is joy in representing one's country, the burden of travelling expenses has proven to be a challenge for many local female artists who would have been booked and confirmed for international shows. This has prompted Raven Duchess to appeal for more sponsorship opportunities for female musicians, especially for those representing the country who struggle to fund themselves. “We do need sponsors to partner with us as we fly the Zimbabwean flag high. These international festivals can change the trajectory of the Zimbabwean narrative when it comes to international representation. We do need the support, especially from the corporate world and independent people who love to support local.”
The Sofar Harare alumni regularly performs at corporate and diplomatic events, private parties and cocktail events. Her music resonates with multi-cultural audiences. Last month, she made an appearance at the Holistic Gypsy Fair at Art Farm in Harare and performed for the Indian national cricket team at the Indian embassy residence.
She has been involved in several collaborations with musicians from all over the world and featured in the song Magitare by Dimitri & The Scarecrow, which is a musical concept developed by Zimbabwean Uganda-based alternative hip-hop artist Dimitri D. Kwenda.
In 2023 she was one of the female artists selected to mentor female musicians living with disabilities under the Povo Afrika, Musicable project that was powered by Music in Africa and Sound Connects.
