Southern African Music

1. Umakhwapheni by Amalunga
2. Zandisile by Simphiwe Dana
3. Five Leaves and Two Fish by Nana
4. Kuze Kuse by Soul Brothers

   The Zulu vocal duo The Soul Brothers have been around for a good thirty-five years or more: they were huge in South Africa throughout the seventies and eighties. Their music is deceptively simple: a swirling, always-cooking organ, an upfront high-picked bass guitar, a steady, understated drum beat, an occasional soft electric guitar solo, and occasionally punchy horns floating over all this beautiful harmony singing: somewhat funky, but always smooth.

 Over the decades fads came and went: The Soul Brothers listened, altered their sound a little bit to fit the times, but always stayed true to their original concept.

 With KUZE KUSE the group sounds little different form the Soul Brothers of twenty-five or thirty years ago, except slightly better. Listen to those voices: are the Soul Brothers the Everly Brothers of South Africa? Probably - and this in a country world famous for its vocal groups.

 The Soul Brothers are originators of a famous sound often imitated: they're still the best of a style they invented, and KUZE KUSE shows it off well.

 While Nana is from South Africa, FIVE LEAVES AND TWO FISH sounds like a modern American r&b record - an exceptionally good American r&b cd, a really good singer - but still.... wait, do you hear that guitar solo on Cut 3, 'Mama Africa'? That's definitely a South African style guitar solo - and this gal can sing nice harmonies: a baby doll voice meets funk and South African harmonies.

 Several cuts later very, very little South African associated sounds from a dark-skinned South African woman singing exclusively in English. One tune opens with a cello. Yes, apartheid and South Africa's subsequent isolation is truly dead: Nana is totally modern and FIVE LEAVES AND TWO FISH as is good (and probably better) as any r&b pop record from the USA.

 Nana wrote most of the lyrics, did some arranging, and even produced a few cuts. She's a big talent with the skills to be an international star.

  "Wow: this group sounds like the Soul Brothers did in their classic 1970s and 80s recordings!" Well, the exclamation says it all: Amalunga is a Zulu vocal duo from South Africa and UMAKHWAPHENI sounds like it was recorded by South Africa's most popular group The Soul Brothers.

 Smooth vocal harmonies, an upfront bass guitar probably picked with a plectrum rather than plucked with the fingers (also played at a higher pitch than bass players outside of South Africa) and a swirling organ weaving in and out provides pure nostalgia and a true classic sound.

 In Nashville artists whose sound recalls the past are called 'neo-traditionalists'. Amalunga are South Africa's neo-traditionalists, at least on UMAKHWAPHENI, providing twelve songs of pure joy.

 Since I don't speak Zulu I have no idea what the songs are about, but I don't care anymore than I cared what the Everly Brothers were singing about: it was the sound of  those harmonies singing those melodies that made us love the Everlys, The Soul Brothers, and now Amalunga.

 When I first listened to Simphiwe Dana's ZANDISILE I was disappointed: I was expecting a slightly modernized version of classic South African music like the stuff that inspired Paul Simon's GRACELAND album.

 Instead I heard what sounded like modern African-American sounds: r&b, soul, jazz mixed with some Euro-beat, but (and this is a big but) as the tunes rolled by we heard traces of experimental music, electronica, jazz fusion and eventually South African choral music.

 Singer songwriters Simphiwe Dana has definitely been listening to American music: her voice often (but not always) sounds like Billie Holiday. Like most South Africans she can switch from language to language with ease. Unlike most South African performers, she often does it on ZANDISILE  in the middle of a song.

 The more we listen to ZANDISILE (3-4 times so far), the more we like it. This is a great cd by a very talented performer.

 If Simphiwe Dana was located in Britain or the USA, I could see her becoming an international star. I hope it happens.

   Lovers of modern African music, fans of Thomas Mapfumo and most things Zimbabwean will be delighted at the re-release of the 1970s recordings of a band few of us outside of Zimbabwe ever heard of - Hallelujah Chicken Run Band -  whom many people in what used to be Rhodesia know of as one of the most important bands in the history of the Zim sound.

 I was surprised to learn from the excellent and extensive liner notes booklet that Thomas Mapfumo started out as a drummer who occasionally sang. I've seen him live and he either played guitar or concentrated on his vocals.

 Originally these recordings were released as singles or E,P.s. Over the years different musicians, singers and songwriters came and went. As a result, this cd  has much more variety than most contemporary band releases. Many of the modernized folk tunes the band recorded came from Malawi as well as  Mozambique and South Africa.  Most Zim stars of today came from the dominant Shona culture, and this is reflected in their music.

 Much of the guitar sound we associate with Zim bands originated with the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, so this is a very historically important document in the evolution of contemporary African music as well as a whole lot of fun. 

 Unlike most Zimbabwe bands we hear about here in the West, The Green Arrows came from Bulawayo, Zim's second largest city and the largest city in Southern Zimbabwe, the home of the Ndebele people, their largest minority ethnic group.  The Ndebele are closely related to the Zulus of nearly south Africa and share many cultural traits, particularly music.

 As a result  The Green Arrows, who evolved in the late 1960s, originally started out with a sound that we might think of as more South African than 'Zim', but as time went on and their sound evolved (especially after they moved north to Harare) personnel changes contributed greatly to this evolution.

 Surprisingly, many of their sounds reflect the 'psychedelic' guitar sounds which had taken over the pop music in the USA, the UK, and were spreading world-wide.

 Reggae influence can also be heard - strangely, very little of the staccato guitar picking associated with Zim music is heard: a style of guitar prevalent with the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band and nearly every Zim band. This is taken from the sound of the mbira (African thumb piano) which reaches its height in musical importance in the traditional music of Zimbabwe, particularly among the Shona.

 Nevertheless, these early recordings of The Green Arrows show us the roots of modern Zim rhythms in styles as diverse as jit or chimerenga.

 Ladysmith Black Mambazo's LONG WALK TO FREEDOM has to be their best album in years. As much as I like this prolific South African (mostly) a capella choir, sometimes they just miss the mark. I really didn't expect LONG WALK to be this good: the group's been around for several decades and I thought perhaps they were a bit over the hill.

 On LONG WALK TO FREEDOM the group, with the help of an international assemblage of artists, revisits many of their previous hits. This is usually a sign an artist has run out of ideas and perhaps talent; but surprise surprise: by track 3, the famous Paul Simon collaboration 'Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes', I was hooked and convinced this group still has it. This cd is a great addition to any definitive South African music collection.

 I've never been a big Ethridge fan until I saw and heard Dolly Parton sing one of her songs - she shouted too much for my taste - but listen to her singing 'Diamonds':  wow, this girl can sing. She doesn't shout, she carefully and subtly works the lyrics. Meanwhile, Ladysmith backs her up with less instruments than on the original version.   The percussion is most welcome, but surprisingly the horns and bass guitar are not missed at all.

 Throughout LONG WALK the group sings as good or better than ever. There have not been many changes in their lineup over the years, but some younger voices definitely add to the appeal.

 Some tracks are Ladysmith singing unaccompanied, others feature guests. Taj Mahal gets to sing on the classic 'Mbube' (aka 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'), and also provides some stinging blusey guitar, which adds more to the song than his voice.

 Can you beleive Lucky Dube, Hugh Masekela, Vusi Mahlasala, and a host of South African stars are all on the same song? It's cut 11, 'Shoshloza': Vusi's voice really stands out.

 No matter who guests on LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, there's no doubt that Joseph Shabalala and his group are the true stars. Joseph's voice is deeper now, but even more powerful than it was 35 years ago. The man's spirit just doesn't give out!

  The Ndebele people (who are related to the Zulus) live in South Africa and the Southern part of Zimbabwe. Fans of South African pop styles, especially Umbaqanga, have heard Ndebele music in the sounds of the Mhatella Queens and other groups: but here is the real, unadorned roots of those songs sung and played on the simple wind instruments in the rural village.

 The playing of the whistles and horn is very simple: the tone occasionally will remind the listener of the Australian Didgeridoo, but there are no fancy tricks like circular breathing.

 Cut 2, 'Amamikelela', starts off like a cross between a Southern work song and a tune by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

 Most of the tunes cover the usual subjects of concern to women in traditional rural societies, but Cut 5, 'Kadamyana Sibaleka', is about the great Ndelebe Riot of 1986 protesting the setting up of a separate Ndebele homeland, thus making the Ndebele foreigners in South Africa.  Surprisingly, the tone of the song is not strong or violent.

 Vocals dominate nearly all the tunes, but cut 11, 'Ubutserwani', is an exception as it's a very short fiddle solo.

 The music on AFRIQUE DU SUD was recorded in two different Ndebele villages: no individuals are credited.