Otto & The Mutapa Calling is a colourful celebration of southern African music and culture. The London-based marimba band plays energetic, joyful music from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana, covering traditional folk songs, popular southern African covers and original songs.
The band's set-up includes soprano, tenor and baritone marimbas, hosho, drumming and singing, with a splash of both traditional and contemporary dances. The marimba band’s sound is full of energy and pulsating rhythms - and the band’s music shares the rich cultures, histories and stories of the people of southern Africa.
Formed in 2017, the marimba band is led by Otto Gumaelius who started playing African music on the marimba in the late 1990s in Botswana. The band is currently comprised of musicians from Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the UK, and is the only active professional southern African marimba band of its kind in the UK.