Widely traveled afro-fusion group Mokoomba sampled new songs as they bid farewell to their audience at Book Café on Saturday night.

The show which attracted a full house saw the group opening with a new acapella track titled Ngikumbula, a song of reminiscence and nostalgia. It tells a story of people gathered around fire to speak about their past love, love lost and that which could have been. The track had Mokoomba displaying their amazing vocal capabilities while showcasing well choreographed Ndebele traditional dance moves. Much to the awe of the crowd, they moved to their new acoustic set employing traditional instruments, propelling a different groove from what the group usually plays.

Mokoomba’s new playlist included songs such as Muzwile, Njawane, Mukandonga, Nyaradzo, Mukanda and Kulindiswe, all well received. It was their old songs however that really got the crowd up and dancing. At one point an unidentified member of the audience jumped on stage to dance with the group while many revelers crowded the space in front of the stage in dance and sing along.

Meanwhile, yesterday Mokoomba left for a four month-long tour of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. They will first perform in Denmark on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before heading to Norway, Australia and New Zealand for the WOMAD festivals. The group will also tour Belgium, Germany, Austria, UK and Switzerland.  Mokoomba’s manager Marcus Gora explains, “The UK leg of the tour is called Making Tracks. In this we will play our new acoustic set.” Making Tracks brings brand new music from the far-flung corners of the world to venues in the UK.

Pic credit: Berimbaudrum