Anna Mudeka

Born Anna (Hamunyare) Mudeka in Zimbabwe on 20th July 1976, Anna started dancing at the age of six with the encouragement of her grandmother, Mbuya Mudeka. Music has always played a major role in the life of the Mudeka family and at the age of 14 Anna and her two sisters, Patience and Mutsa, joined IDWALA-ELIKHULU, a fifteen-piece group performing music and dance from southern African. At this time the sisters started working professionally, performing all over Zimbabwe. In 1993, at the age of 17, Anna achieved her first breakthrough when she was asked to perform backing vocals and dance for Ephat Mujuru on his 3 month tour of Japan. Only three weeks were available for Anna and Mutsa to learn all the words and dances for a two-hour performance which was ultimately received very well in Japan.

Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited

On their return from Japan, the three sisters, Anna, Patience and Mutsa were then asked by the legendary Thomas Mapfumo, the founder of Chirumenga music, to join his twenty-piece band, The Blacks Unlimited. They also had the opportunity to record an album with Thomas and toured Zimbabwe with him for six months. Anna worked with Thomas for a period of nine months before moving to England in 1994 to launch her own career as a singer, Patience left the same year to launch her career in America where she is now based and Musta was the last one to leave now making a big name for herself in Belgium. 

BabaSimba

BABASIMBA was assembled in Norwich in 1995 with the aim to play African fusion music. The group recorded two albums at Purple Studios, named CHIRUNGU and RWENDO, in the five years they were together.

Tambai Ensemble

In the year 2000, Anna assembled another group named SVIKIRO, shaped to produce more of an authentic African sound, with a line-up of Mbira (thumb piano), live African drums and acoustic guitar and a mixture of drum kit and bass to give strong balance. Anna organised a tour of England with Svikiro before returning to the studio to produce her third album CHAM'TENGURE, with a mixture of Svikiro trance music and the African fusion of Babasimba. Anna is currently still working with Svikiro and regularly performs around England. Anna Mudeka ans Svikiro are now known as the Tambai Ensemble.