Hey, what's that sound: Thumb piano

From Björk to Konono No 1, a variety of modern artists have embraced the ancient spirit of mbira musicWhat are they? "Thumb piano" is a generic, westernised name for a range of different sub-Saharan lamellophones (instruments played by plucking tuned fixed metal tines or keys). Usually, thumb piano refers to either the mbira or its more modernised variant, the kalimba.Who uses them? Ephat Mujuru, Garikayi Tirikoti and Stella Chiweshe are three of the biggest names in 20th-century mbira. In west...

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