About the Band
Get to know the band: listen to our radio appearance on NPR member station NCPR
“There are many great defenders of African culture...[Zikina] is telling us to awaken and be attentive, they’re trying to change things. I love this group because it’s a very original fusion of jazz with certain genres and sounds of Africa, but they also bring in contemporary sounds of rock.”
““...blending those kinds of influences and distilling them down into a unique sound is something of a high wire act if you don’t want to come off sounding derivative. That’s the territory that Zikina inhabits naturally.
...there’s an expansiveness and lurking that tells a story of climbing life’s mountains and reaching heights we never thought we could achieve.” ”
Zikina is a group of people who came from across continents and cultures to show that despite all the forces in the world that emphasize our differences and try to diminish and pull us apart, we can come together to make something beautiful and new. It doesn’t take long for this music to get you dancing, clapping along, connecting with the people around you, and savoring the beauty of the present moment.
Uganda native Gideon Ampeire draws you in with a variety of traditional East African instruments, including enanga (zither), adungu (harp), and kalimba (thumb piano) - all of which he builds himself. Those beautiful sounds meet the surrounding guitar, bass, and drums in way that somehow feels both completely familiar, and like nothing you’ve heard before. Mike Cardozo (guitar, percussion) improvises intricate melodic conversations with Gideon and dances through the beat with punchy rhythmic lines. Roston Kirk (bass) and Kurt Eisele-Dyrli (drums) weave a sonic landscape that flows seamlessly from intense grooves to joyous dance beats to dreamy textures. Gideon's vocals cut powerfully through the fabric or float lightly above. It all adds up to something truly unique, yet immediately accessible.
Gideon Ampeire has been performing internationally for almost 20 years as a bandleader, instrumentalist, singer, dancer, educator, and master instrument maker. For over a decade, he has been the leader of Echo Uganda, a group that has spread traditional Ugandan folk music throughout the northeast US and beyond, including an appearance at the United Nations. In 2015, Gideon met up with western MA producer and guitarist Mike Cardozo, who has performed and recorded for nearly a decade in a variety of acts. Gideon and Mike shared the bond of having studied West African drumming at Wesleyan University under legendary professor Abraham Adzenyah. Berklee School of Music graduate Roston Kirk and CT drummer Kurt Eisele-Dyrli rounded out the group, and what began as a casual set of jam sessions started to progress into something special that stretched musical boundaries in a unique way. Today, Gideon, Mike, Roston and Kurt are always forging ahead, continuing to imaginatively blend Gideon's musical and cultural heritage with the wide palette of sounds and ideas that each member brings to the table.