Ghorwane: The band that survived murders and rose to Peter Gabriel’s challenge

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Ghorwane: The band that survived murders and rose to Peter Gabriel’s challenge

4:24 CAT | 03 Jul 2024

Photo: Luisa Nhantumbo / Lusa

Ghorwane, founded 41 years ago, is the oldest musical band in Mozambique. It has survived the murder of two of its most influential members, censorship and met the challenge of recording their first album in the studios of former Genesis member, Peter Gabriel.

“What there is, in fact, is our will to continue making music and, of course, not destroy the will of some of our colleagues, who are not here with us [because they were murdered]. We cannot also kill their will, we continue with this project and try to preserve what is good about our group, which is to continue to do the work of our colleagues,” rhythm guitarist and the band’s main vocalist Roberto Chitsonzo told Lusa.

The “will” that the band does not want to let die is that of the singer and saxophonist Zeca Alage, beaten to death by strangers in 1993, in the area of natural protection barriers in the city of Maputo, and that of the singer and guitarist Pedro Langa, shot dead at home in the centre of the capital in 2001.

“What made us look forward is that those who took the lives of our colleagues cannot imagine how much they had to give to Mozambican music and because death means that the work does not die, that the men die… So we decided to continue hugging each other, because, perhaps, we too would have succumbed, as people,” highlights Chitsonzo, former physical education teacher and also former deputy of the Assembly of the Republic.

When questioning about the 16-year civil war that ended in 1992 was taboo in a single-party context, Ghorwane sent shockwaves when Zeca Alage sang “Massotcha” – which means “military” in the languages of southern Mozambique – criticizing “weapons more expensive than rice”, in a “very hungry” country.

They are “good guys [bons rapazes]”, Mozambican President Samora Machel said when he heard the iconic subversive song, despite being warned by his collaborators about the “heresy” that the theme represented.

“It was everyday life, not exactly political criticism, we were saying what the voice of our people is,” Chitsonzo explains about the inspiration behind the band’s songs.

Drought, natural calamities, moral crises and education have always featured in the repertoire because, in the case of Mozambique, they are perennial subjects.

Chitsonzo admits that the band’s vitality is also due to rejuvenation with the entry of younger members replacing those who leave in search of new horizons.

The fusion between traditional Mozambican rhythms and dances, such as Nondge and Makwayela, and conventional instruments make the group’s unique sound.

This combination also gave strength to internationalization and impressed stars such as Peter Gabriel, a former member of Genesis, who invited the band to record their first album, ‘Majurujenta’ at his ‘Real World Studios ‘ in London, in 1991.

“He [Peter Gabriel] is the patron of the WOMAD Festival. We went there and, upon seeing young people like us with so much [musical] expression, he asked us if we had an album recorded. We said we didn’t, and he just said: ‘The studio is there, record it’,” Chitsonzo recalls.

“Outside, there is always a search for authentic sound and talent, the ingredient for Ghorwane to continue for a long time is not to depend on cosmetics and commercial band tricks,” says the band’s pianist, João Schwalbach, the descendant of German ancestors who arrived in Mozambique in the 19th century.

Other notable collaborations emerged, such as that with Mia Couto, who wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack of the television series “No Need To Push”, performed by Ghorwane, about civic education for the first multi-party elections in 1994, reconciliation and respect for diversity, in a country that had just come out of war.

To “do justice” to the name of the mythical “lake that never runs dry” in the province of Gaza and which inspired “the Ghorwane brand”, the band “will not be drained” and has shows celebrating its 41st anniversary scheduled for this year, bass player Carlos Gove says.

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