Battle of The Bands
We are super thrilled for Otto and The Mutapa Calling for winning the Tropical Pressure Battle of The Bands competition this past weekend! The UK’s finest marimba band very much looks forward to playing at Tropical Pressure festival this July. Here are a few pictures shot by Jam First Photography.
About Otto & The Mutapa Calling
Otto & The Mutapa Calling is a colourful celebration of southern African culture through rhythm and song. The London-based marimba band plays a blend of music from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana, including original music, traditional songs, and popular covers. Their performances are full of joy, energy and pulsating rhythms, and the stories blended with the songs they play celebrate the people, cultures and history of southern Africa. Audiences are rarely able to resist getting up and dancing once the music starts to play.
The band performs using southern African marimbas, with drumming, singing and mbira. Formed in 2017, the marimba band is led by Otto Gumaelius who started playing African music on the marimba in the 1990s in Botswana. The band is currently comprised of musicians from Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the UK, and it is the only active professional southern African marimba band of its kind in the country.
The band’s popularity sees them performing regularly at festivals, live music venues, weddings, community events, and much more. Recent performances in 2025 include Jersey Arts Centre, Erin Arts Centre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Tropical Pressure Festival (winners of Battle of the Bands 2025), Celebraaition Festival, Festival of Colours, Elementary Festival, Yebo Festival, The Brunswick, The Jago, The Rising, Mabiko: Celebrate Africa, Pride of Reading Awards, Colchester Zoo, Africa Business Forum Oxford, and many more.
Band leader, Otto Gumaelius, and band drummer, Tomson Chauke, also lead regular southern African music workshops covering drumming, marimba, mbira, singing and dance. Workshops are open to all ages, and both workshop leaders are DBS cleared.
For more information on the band, visit their website or social media pages.
