Kukana Kuba Kasambwe Brothers Band leaves the country next week Monday for United States of America (USA) in their debut trip, having collected their visas.
The Blantyre-based group, which has kept people entertained with their authentic sounds for years, is set to tour USA courtesy of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass Moca) in partnership with Grammy award-winning producer Harlan Steinberger and Jacaranda Foundation through Sounds of Malawi Acoustic Session, which is held every Thursday at Jacaranda Cultural Centre (JCC) in Blantyre.
JCC Director Luc Deschamps, who is also French Honorary Consul to Malawi, confirmed on Wednesday that Kukana Kuba Kasambwe would leave the country next week Monday and arrive in USA on November 12 2024.
“Yes all is set. Kukana Kuba Kasambwe will perform at a school on November 14 2024 and, then, they have a show to the public on November 16,” he said.
Deschamps said from November 18 to 23 2024, they group would get into the studio to record a new album with Steinberger at Mass Moca Studio.
“On November 13 2024, they will fix their instruments and they might even go for a workshop on how to make local instruments,” he said.
Steinberger heaped praise on Kukana Kuba Kasambwe Brothers Band during his visit to the country early this year, when he also recorded songs for several musicians.
Steinberger, alongside Deschamps and Marie Da Silva, also teamed up to take Keturah, popularly known as Local Girl, to USA, where she recorded her self-titled album.
He said Malawian musicians had proved to be “talented and proficient in the studio” and that he was inspired by Kasambwe, which was among the acts that he recorded.
“The Kasambwe Brothers are an absolute joy to watch. I have a strong sense the audiences here will love the band. Their music makes us want to get up and dance,” Steinberger said.
Fatsani Kennedy, who plays traditional drums, said they could not wait for the trip.
“Glory be to God. We never imagined that such an opportunity would come to us. But God’s time is always the best and this is the best time for us to go to USA,” he said.
Konzani Chikwata, who plays the banjo, is thankful to JCC and partners for giving them an opportunity to go to USA for the first time.
“We hope this is the start of more international performances for us,” he said.
Joseph Banda, who plays the acoustic guitar and also leads in vocals, said they had prepared well for the tour and that they were looking forward to raising Malawi’s flag there.
“We are ready and, now that we have visas, it is all about marketing Malawi,” he said.
