Album Notes

In Shona, Serevende means a thing that goes on and on like the trance music of Zimbabwe that seems to carry on even if the musicians have stopped playing. As the songs are played for extended periods of time, they take on new directions, sometimes distinct from the original melody.

On Boka's most recent CD, "Serevende", the melodies and rhythms of Zimbabwe meet with musicians of the Pacific Northwest and keep spinning on! The sheer pleasure of playing is the glue that bonds the band together, and the desire to share this music with others is the fuel that fires Boka Marimba.

Boka Marimba is a nine-member dance band that plays exhilarating, positive-energy music from Zimbabwe and other areas of southeastern Africa.

The music is in the Shona style: Melodic themes and variations layered in polyrhythmic, cyclic patterns. The songs are sung in the Shona language.

The band's instrumentation consists of seven marimbas (three sopranos, two tenors, a baritone, and a bass), gourd shakers called hosho, mbira ("thumb piano"), drums and percussion.