The Shed Sessions

The Bhundu Boys hit the western world by storm in the early ’80s almost taking up residence in the UK and Ireland. They were probably the first Zimbabwean band to gain major recognition here with their form of fast, energetic guitar music known as Jit. The story of the Bhundu Boys is a sad one though; through over-exposure to western pop their music suffered, front man Biggie Tempo left the band and over the years their popularity slipped drastically.

Now there is all but one living member of the original band, others passing away tragically in AIDS-related deaths. But this double whammy cd looks back at the early glory days of the Bhundu Boys. All the tracks were recorded in The Shed Studio in Harare between 1982 and 1986; some of them you will have heard before and some were never released outside Zimbabwe. Listening to it brought back so many memories of that time. I had forgotten how good the Bhundu Boys really were, how supple yet raw their music was and how truly intense their sound was.