Umanyanyatha: Songs from the Soul of Zimbabwe

Born in Zimbabwe but resident in Austria for more than 20 years, Vusa Mkhaya made his name in world music circles with the a capella trio Insingizi. He has since pursued a parallel solo career in a mellifluous, easy-on-the-ear Afro-pop style that invites obvious comparisons with the late Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi. His third solo album puts his honeyed voice centre stage, accompanied by gently swaying percussive grooves, a relaxed guitar strum, rippling piano chords, trilling flute and sweet harmony vocals in the imbube style made famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Zimbabwe’s Black Umfolosi.

At times, as on ‘Mayibabo’ and the synth-laden ‘Lizobuya’, the backing is too busily over-layered and his voice is showcased better on the simpler arrangements of ‘Manyanyatha’ with its simmering groove and the buoyant lilt of ‘Africa’, one of the few tracks sung in English. ‘Siyeza’, with its lovely minor-key melody and heavenly backing vocals, benefits from being stripped down just to guitar-and-vox and best of all is ‘Ubuntu’, seven minutes of hypnotic tribal rhythms layered with piano, guitar, cello and evocative, scat-like vocals.