Inzovu Y'Imirindi, by Bizimungu Dieudonne

Inzovu Y'Imirindi

by Bizimungu Dieudonne

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comes with 8 page booklet featuring lyric translations and photos

Includes unlimited streaming of Inzovu Y'Imirindi via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

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1.	Inzovu Y'Imirindi 09:31	buy track
2.	Imbabazi Twese 06:35	buy track
3.	Tabara Ryangombe 06:23	buy track
4.	Inyange Ibarusha Kwera 06:27	buy track
5.	Urujeje Rw'Imisozi 1000 07:17	buy track
6.	Ibango Ry'Ibanga 07:22	buy track

about

In the late 1980s, singer Bizimungu Dieudonne, his wife Agnes Uwimbabazi, and a backing band of family and friends self-released a visionary cassette, featuring stuttering electric guitars, loping bass lines, and call and response vocals.

Their combo of 80s studio wizardry rooted in traditional Rwandan praise songs resulted in hypnotic, extended jams unlike anything else released in East Africa at the time. The lyrics praised the beauty of the countryside and the exploits of the ancient gods. On plaintive acoustic tracks squeezed between the electric bangers, Bizimungu and Agnes called for unity in the divided nation.

Their message was an eerie presaging of the coming Rwandan Genocide. Bizimungu and Agnes, along with bandmates BIGIRIMANA AUGUSTIN, and NIYONGAMIJE EMMANUEL were all killed by Hutu militias in 1994. Their music was silenced, any traces almost lost in the ensuing decades.

We first heard this album through music scholar Matthew Lavoie in 2018, and spent years looking for any surviving members of the band. Last year, co-producer and Voice of America host Jackson Mvunganyi tracked down Bizimungu and Agnes’ daughter, Noella, in Kigali. Only 9 years old at the time of her parents’ death, she had taken on the task of reintroducing their work to a new generation in Rwanda. Though her family lost almost everything in the genocide, Noella tracked down a CD containing the master recordings of Inzovu Y’imirindi from one of the band's early producers.

It is stunning to finally hear this music in its fullness and immediacy, beautifully remastered at Osiris Studios. We’re grateful to Noella and our collaborators for helping us share Bizimungu and Agnes’ vital music and message with the world.

credits

released November 14, 2025

Guitar and vocals by BIZIMUNGU DIEUDONNE
Vocals by AGNES UWIMBABAZI
Additional guitar by KAGAMBAGE ALEXANDRE
Additional Vocals and Dancing by BIGIRIMANA AUGUSTIN, NIYONGAMIJE EMMANUEL
Drums by IRANGA
Produced by UWIMANA

Reissue produced by Jackson Mvunganyi and Cyrus Moussavi
Co-produced by Noella Marie Akayezu

Audio mastering by Jordan McLeod at Osiris Studios, Nashville, TN
Lacquer cut by Adam Gonsalves

Lyric translation by Derrick Ndushabandi and Jackson Mvunganyi
Additional lyric translation on A1 & A3 by Scholastique Mukasonga
Liner notes design and label management by Sam Wenc
Graphic production by Dan Fried
Licensing by Adam Holofcener

Special thanks:
Noella Marie Akayezu for her bravery in telling this story
Scholastique Mukasonga for her novels, memoirs, and "paper graves," which should be read by everyone
Matthew Lavoie for his research and early championing of this music, which made this album possible

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Mississippi Records was dreamt up roughly 22 years ago on Mississippi Ave in Portland OR and currently lives in Philly and New York. ... more

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