KEXP 90.3 FM - where the music matters

Fradreck and Faugai Mujuru are musicians from Zimbabwe, whom play the intensely spiritual traditional music of the Shona people. Their instruments, which Fraderick built himself, are the mbira - a 'thumb' piano (actually played by thumb and forefinger), with metal keys and a wood frame, played inside a large gourd for amplification. They come from the famous Mujuru family of traditional musicians. This music is used for the all-night bira ceremonies to effectively communicate with ancestral spirits. - J. Kertzer