Bothwell Nyamhondera is a Zimbabwean music producer known for producing music for a plethora of Zimbabwean musicians during and after his tenure with Gramma Records.
Nyamhondera was born in 1959 in Mutare where he did his primary and secondary education and moved to Harare in 1978 upon completion of his studies. In Harare, he formed a group called Octave with the likes of Ernest Sando, Louis Mhlanga, Chris Chabuka, Eppias Paradza, and the late Alfred de Sousa.
In 1980, he joined Shed Studios as a session drummer. In 1981 he became the studio’s engineer. He worked at Shed until 1982 when he joined Gramma Records where he worked for 22 years as their resident engineer and later became their chief producer.
During his career Nyamhondera also helped found and played the drums for the R.U.N.N. Family which was made up of siblings from the Muparutsa family, the best known of whom are the late Fortune and his brother, lead singer and bassist Peter Muparutsa that had several hits in the 1980s, whose songs combined mbira-inspired music with reggae and rhumba influences.
With Tanga Ernest Sango high-flying producer, Bothwell Nyamhondera went on to form the band Giraffe. The band recorded the hits, Mahobho and Vakomana Vekwedu among others. The band later disbanded and Tanga embarked on a solo career.
In 2004, Bothwell left Gramma Records to work as a freelance engineer/producer at different studios. He had a brief stint at Last Power Media from 2009 to 2011. In 2013 he joined Diamond Studios.
Nyamhondera album credits include stints as sound Engineer for “The Long Walk” (2007 ) and “Gwindingwi Rine Shumba” (1980) by Thomas Mapfumo. He worked as a mixing engineer for “Tsivo” (2004) by Oliver Mtukudzi and “Corruption” (1989) again with Thomas Mapfumo. He was a producer for many albums including “Jit” (1993), Best of the Four Brothers: Makorokoto” (1992), and Mechanic Manyeruke and the Puritans (1988).
Nyamhondera is the man behind the success stories of many top musicians in the country, chief among them Alick Macheso, Madzibaba Nicholas Zakaria, Leonard Dembo, Simon Chimbetu, James Chimombe, and the late Tongai Moyo, among others whom he recorded with during his tenure at Gramma Records. —NACZ.
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