Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Friday, March 30, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Nearly a year later, a Yellowknifer's quest to immortalize the music that his late mother loved has paid off, and he has nothing but thanks for it.

"I feel a lot of relief, and a certain amount of joy," said Chaka Rukobo, who is originally from Harare, Zimbabwe.

This joy comes from knowing funds from the sales of Anotida, a CD of African choral music recorded in Zimbabwe and mixed in the North, have purchased a public address system, instruments and other sound equipment for the Kambuzuma Methodist Church in Harare.

The relief comes from knowing the CD was a success.

"We sold between 600 and 700 copies," he said of the CD's success since last October. These sales have come from Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Inuvik and anywhere else that Rukobo has travelled during his work with the Union of Northern Workers.

"I want to thank the people of Yellowknife for the support," he said.

Rukobo travelled to Zimbabwe in February to purchase the equipment. He said people "sang and danced with joy and were really appreciative of the gifts," in a later e-mail.

From the start, Anotida was a deeply personal project for Rukobo, as his mother Lavinia Makuzva was a member of the Kambuzuma Methodist Choir. She died of cancer in 2005, shortly after moving to Yellowknife.

"On the first anniversary of her death, I decided to do something everlasting, something in memorial to my mother," Rukobo said in a previous interview with Yellowknifer.

With a few copies of Anotida still available, Rukobo said he plans to expand his company, Anotida Arctic Music of Canada, bringing more Zimbabwean music to the North.

This includes keeping the mixing and design of the releases Northern, he said. Anotida was mixed at Norm Glowach's Spiritwalker Productions, while the cover art was created by Yellowknife artist Diana Mathisen.

"Keep your eyes open for new and exciting Zimbabwean music," Rukobo said.