Based: Cape Town

All members of the band are living in Khayelitsha, the second largest township in South Africa. It is part of Cape Town and home of about 2 million people, about half of them children under the age of 18 years. The unemployment rate is up to 60% and living conditions are very tough.
Ikamva Marimba Band (Ikamva meaning “Future”) played at the Craft Market in Khayelitsha, the second largest township in South Africa.The band members mainly lived from donations left by visitors.
Hajo Kowalke as tour operator and tour guide got to know the band some years ago. Being touched by their personalities and performances and to give the guys the chance of a better future, he decided to support the Ikamva Marimba Band by helping them to produce their first CD “Memories of Cape Town”.

The Ikamva Marimba Band (Ikamva meaning “Future”) is a marimba band with all its members hailing from Khayelitsha, the second largest township in South Africa. They also perform regularly as buskers at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Their repertoire consists of a wide variety of songs including gospel, jazz and popular international hits reworked with a unique African flavour.

The Ikamva band consists of 3 marimba players, a drummer, a trumpeter, as well as a percussionist. All members contribute to the singing duties and their voices harmonise in perfect pitch as an accompaniment to their African rhythms. The band members are friendly as well as personable and wear brightly coloured traditional African shirts and always greet guests with a warm smile

Since August 2012 they also play regularly at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, leading to their second CD “Merry Christmas”, the first pure Christmas CD by marimba instruments published in South Africa.