Concert- and CD-Reviews from around the World
		What they say
		“The mixture of background music and voices create a wonderful sound….” These words by Joseph Shabalala, founder, head and lead singer of the world famous South African acapella group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, summarise the general feeling of fans regarding his music. Rave reviews from the press speak volumes about the popularity Ramadu has gained around the globe, and the rate at which his empire is expanding. As evidenced in the guest book of this website, fans at home (Zimbabwe) and abroad have poured their support behind Ramadu and the Afro Vibes band. Words of encouragement continue to pour in and this has enabled Ramadu to scale up new heights with every project he is involved in. Ramadu’s ability to listen to comments from his fans and critics is the secret behind his success story and ever improving prowess in the musical sector. Spare a moment to visit the guest book, hear what others say, and have your say, to let them know as well what you think.
		Review from daddyvoice/ tripod-USA
		After a few years, a music critic winds up on a lot of record label mailing lists. I can direct you to acts trying to sound like Dylan in all of his major periods, and that's just the Chapel Hill record labels. Going further afield, I can even hip you to acts trying to sound like Paul Simon, and for a great artist, Paul Simon has few imitators. However, these accomplishments are mere music critic parlor tricks. Let me tell you about a group that the acts Paul Simon emulated during his most successful period try to sound like. That's right, I'm talking about the music Ladysmith Black Mambazo listens to, the music of Dumisani Moyo, a.k.a. »Ramadu« Breaking out from heavy Zimbabwe radio play in the mid-nineties for acclaimed middle European and Scandinavian tours, Ramadu became the group leader most associated internationally with mbube and related forms of African choral music. Social upheaval and tragedy across the African continent provide a broader range of pop music topics than While some titles translate as "Be Happy,” "Name of a girl” or "Lets Travel Together,” which could come from a Pine Valley garage band, other songs among the 16 Izambulelo cuts are "Payment for the Bride,” "AIDS”, "Orphan” and "King´s army.conditions here in the States.”				Clearly, if beauty is to emerge from African music in these times, it must be beauty from inside the musicians, for outside is a place where even looking for beauty is not frequently productive or even safe. Thus, a leader like Ramadu, setting the tone and pace of each number like an old-style coastal Carolinian chanteyman keeping the pogey boats apace, bears a tremendous responsibility. For this type of music, Izambulelo uses fairly simple instrumentation. Guitar, bass, percussion instruments the names of most of which I can pronounce, keyboards, marimba, vocals and more vocals complete the list. Without sacrificing vocal treatments that always remind one of prayer, this reliance on familiar, "Western” instruments lends the production a higher level of comfort than one might expect. Said comfort comes across not only when listening, but when judging the songs. It is easy to tell that the guitar work is world class world music, intricate yet light, a bird song accompanying a communal celebration. Given all these strengths plus marvelous liner notes and packaging and high production standards, Izambulelo makes a great first step into world music and the ARC label’s offering within it. Keep it in mind.
		April/May 2002

		Joseph Shabalala, head and lead singer of Ladysmith Black Mambazo
		"The mixture of backgroud music and voices create a wonderful sound of »isicathamiya« " (Ladysmith´s special style of harmony singing)
		Liner notes on Ramadu´s album Izambulelo.

		WELTMUSIK, Germany
		Mit seinen Liedern von Liebe, Freundschaft. Gott und Glücklichsein ist Dumisani Ramadu Moyo seit zwölf Jahren unterwegs- und erfolgreich. Der Künstler aus dem afrikanischen Staat Simbabwe fabriziert eine Mixtur aus traditionellen und modernen Klängen, deren Herzstück jeweils der wunderbar sanfte und harmonische Gesang von Ramadu ist.				Die Sprache ist Ndebele (infos in Beihaft); begleiten lässt er sich in erster Linie von Percussions- zu hören sind Kongas, Djembe, aber auch Flöten, Glocken und Keyboard-Sounds (!). Am ehesten erinnern die Stücke an die Weltmusik-Stars "Ladysmith Black Mambazo". (og) Wertung: ***
		Harburger, Feb 2002, Germany

		Graz Meeting "African Roots - Jazz Festival " 25. – 27. 4. 2002
		Mit Ramadu & The Afro-Vibes hat man schließlich Jazz hinter sich gelassen. Die ungefähr zehn Musiker machen in gemischt afrikanisch-europäischer Besetzung heißen Afrorock mit Ausflügen in folkloristischen Acappella - Gesang, Soul, Funk und mehr. Dazu Tanzeinlagen wie es sich für eine Afroparty gehört. Leadsänger Ramadu ist eine Stimmungskanone und unterhält mit netten, nachdenklichen und erzieherischen Geschichten aus seiner Heimat Simbabwe.				Die Band hat das Zeug zum Erfolg! Dass Ramadu seit Jahren in Graz lebt und die Band dementsprechend einige heimische Musiker aufweist (u.a. den Grazer Percussion-Tausendsassa Franz Schmuck) ist eine erfreulicher außermusikalischer Aspekt. Hat doch Graz eine große afrikanische Gemeinde, die sich auf diese Weise ins rechte kreative Licht zu setzen weiß und derart wohl auch zur Verständigung zwischen verschiedenen Gruppen beiträgt.
		ARoJaC – Robert´s Jazz Corner (Robert Stubenrauch), May 2002, Austria

		Insingizi in the Leipzig weekly Newspaper HOMESICKNESS, PRIDE AND BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
		On Thursday, the 8th of May, the air was boiling in the concert hall at »Moritzbastei« in Leipzig. This, however, was not due to the hot and humid summer night. The real reason were three young men from Zimbabwe, known as Insingizi, who made the audience go wild at the a-capella festival organized by this newspaper and the TV-station MDR. The African musicians have devoted themselves to Imbube-music, traditional a-capella singing from South Africa, which was sung by migrant workers far away from their home villages. These songs are about homesickness, pride of oneís own culture, love for beautiful girls, the hardships of life – and hope. Already during the first song the audience was captivated. Insingizi's music is pure joy. The exotic songs were announced by Vusa Ndlovu in such a charming »Genglish« that the audience took an immediate liking to the three artists on stage. Insingizi did not use any percussion.				The rhythm managed to move even the most stiff-backed Germans anyway. This was not achieved by Congas but by the stomping dance-steps of Ndlovu, Blessings Nqo Nkomo and Dumisani Ramadu Moyo. African singing just does not work without movement and dancing. The audience's enthusiasm turned into a frenzy as the boygroup took off their shirts and performed the 15-minute »Gumboots-Dance«. This caused ecstatic screaming comparable only to a teenie-band concert. Insingizi lead the audience to the roots of African music and thus convey their fundamentally positive attitude towards life. On top of all this, the three artists are first-class singers. Each and every chord is right and the three voices are in perfect harmony. Warm melodies, a deep base – until the last minute of the two-hour concert. Humming »wimoweh«, the impressed audience left, already looking forward to the last concert in the maginificent »Neues Gewandhaus«, on Sunday night.

		Interview with INSINGIZI for Sunday News/Zimbabwe on 5th of Jan. 2003
		'Ghetto Boys' take Europe by storm FIFTEEN years ago, in Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi suburb, six determined young men learning at Sobukazi Secondary School formed an a capella imbube music group called Insingizi Emnyama. Today, the remaining three members of the group, now fully qualified musicians educated and based in Austria, have taken European countries by storm, giving Ndebele imbube music an international profile. Rising from those beginnings, Insingizi, as they are known now, made a name for themselves in the townships with traditional dances such as indlamu, isitshikitsha and the famous gumboot dance. Insingizi also performed the instructive hit, Sugar Daddy and created the notorious Hadadula dance. From this platform, Insingizi were invited to perform concert tours in Austria, Denmark and Slovenia, working closely with Hans Theessink, a famous blues musician. This week, group members Dumisani "Ramadu" Moyo, Vusumuzi Ndlovu and Nqobizitha Nkomo visited Sunday News Magazine to share the story of their success. After scoring successes with albums such as Sihlale sonke and Sengikhumbula, Insingizi made their break on the international scene in the summer of 1995, where the group’s members enrolled for music lessons. Ramadu picks up the story. "Going to college there was a good opportunity to be based there and to study. We wanted to be able to come back home and teach budding musicians the theoretical side of music. However, we were unable to do so for various reasons. "By 2000, when we finished our studies, the group was down to three after other members decided to embark on different projects. "All the time we were at college, we were doing our music and even tours, but these were not as effective as when we had finally finished at college, when we began to be closer with bigger agents and groups," said Ramadu.				He said when the group became smaller, individual members decided to experiment on various solo projects, with varying measures of success. "We decided to experiment on various projects and be alone, just to see what we were all about. Right now we have all done solo projects and that is why we are only now recording our first album as Insingizi, made up of us three. It will have eight tracks and will be entitled Yinto enjani." But a band made up of only three members? "Some people ask how we are doing it when we are only three, but we have done more than 30 shows as the three of us. "We are trying to make sure that it still sounds like a big group and our education at the college has helped to do so. "The audience in Europe actually says that we sound better than when we were six," said Vusumuzi. Ramadu has since released his solo effort, a 16-track album, entitled Izambulelo, which has received rave reviews in the European Press. According to Ramadu, the album, on which he started work in 1999, has also received positive response in Europe, America and Asia, selling more than 2 500 copies. "I managed to get a recording deal with ARC Music Productions from the United Kingdom and they produced my album. I made a presentation of the compact disc in Graz, Austria, where we live, and many people came forward to buy copies. "I formed a cross cultural band of musicians who are currently playing this type of music and we will soon be touring the whole world. The group has members from Jamaica, Austria, Bosnia and Congo," said Ramadu. The group will be performing in January at the official launch of Graz as Europe’s culture capital. Nqobizitha and Vusumuzi are also working on forthcoming albums, which are set for release next year. The group’s success has been phenomenal and as Ramadu says, each individual member's self-confidence has grown tremendously in their 15 years in the music business.
		view Ramadu in Zimbabwe –>