Essential South Africa

[Des]

To my shame I have tended to ignore music from South Africa in the last few years despite my Afrophile tendencies.

Charlie did a bit of a hatchet job on the 'Golden Afrique' South Africa collection a year or two ago - this made me hesitate a little as regards exploring the music of this region.

Any essential SA collections/artists to recommend?

[Jamie Renton]

Why not try the Indestructible Beat of Soweto compilations for all your South African musical needs!

They're all great, particularly the first two.

Hope that helps

Jamie

[Des]

Cheers Jamie - will do just that!

[CantSleepClownsWillGetMe]

I'd recommend both 'Kwaito: South African Hip Hop' and 'Tsotsi: Original Soundtrack'. Both feature the 'kwaito' music of the South African Townships, although the 'Tsotsi' album might appeal more if you've seen the film. And don't let the mention of 'hip hop' scare you off. I'd say it's more urban feelgood than hip hop as we know it.

June

[Des]

Thanks June - I do like hip hop and I have the Tsotsi DVD - will get the CDs you recommend.

[Nigel w]

Des,

There are a few I've compiled over the years for the Nascente label. The most recent which appeared a couple of months ago was a two disc set called Experience South Africa, which is a general introduction to all the various SA musical styles with a 24 page booklet. But there are several others I've done for the same label including a couple of more specialist titles such as a South African gospel comp. There's also a collection I put together for Sony in conjunction with National Georgraphic called Voices Of South Africa.

As per another thread on this website, we don't want to go giving out personal information but if you can find some way of getting your address to me via Charlie or something, I'll happily dig some out and send them to you ...

[Des]

Des,

There are a few I've compiled over the years for the Nascente label. The most recent which appeared a couple of months ago was a two disc set called Experience South Africa, which is a general introduction to all the various SA musical styles with a 24 page booklet. But there are several others I've done for the same label including a couple of more specialist titles such as a South African gospel comp. There's also a collection I put together for Sony in conjunction with National Georgraphic called Voices Of South Africa.

As per another thread on this website, we don't want to go giving out personal information but if you can find some way of getting your address to me via Charlie or something, I'll happily dig some out and send them to you ...

Gosh, fantastic! Thanks!

[Ali]

I second the Indestructible Beat recommendations and would add Thokozile by Mahlatini and the Mahotella Queens - a fantastic album. Also worth checking on Earthworks is Dark City Sisters/ Flying Jazz Queens.

[Dominic]

I second the Indestructible Beat recommendations and would add Thokozile by Mahlatini and the Mahotella Queens - a fantastic album. Also worth checking on Earthworks is Dark City Sisters/ Flying Jazz Queens.

Thokozile is readily available, but Dark City Sisters & Flying Jazz Queens has been out of print for ages.

[matt]

Almost without exception all the South African compilations revolve around the lowest common demoninator of the same recycled songs. How many times can you listen to Pata Pata, Stimela, Kazet, Jive Soweto? Its been done to death. The problem is the variety of styles and different scenes...a bit like trying to pull all the different villages of London together and describe them with a picture of Buckingham Palace and the London Eye...doesn't work.

The Earthworks compilations were a great deep dive into mbaqanga, sounds with their origin in the mid-sixties and played out by the mid-seventies before the cultural tourism of the mid-eighties revived the Mahotella Queens internationally and then again back in South Africa.

I would recommend:
Africa Undergound on the Counterpoint label for a brilliant insight into seventies jazz-fusion on Rachid Valli's Sun label. The same label that organised and promoted Abdullah Ibrahim's seminal 1975 sessions.

[Chris P]

A link would be helpful here Matt - 'africa underground' leads nowhere on amazon uk or eBay or a very superficial google

[matt]

http://www.counterpointrecords.co.uk/do ... m.php?id=9

[Chris P]

Thanks Matt.

I wish some label would take up the cause of the great SA guitarist Philip Tabane and Malombo. All his recordings are (I think) out of print which is a bleeding shame.

[Nigel w]

Matt wrote:

Almost without exception all the South African compilations revolve around the lowest common demoninator of the same recycled songs. How many times can you listen to Pata Pata, Stimela, Kazet, Jive Soweto?

Experience South Africa, a two disc comp I did for Nascente , released last month (already cited above) includes none of the tracks Matt mentions, but it does try to cover all the bases - difficult as he says - but I hope it works. It runs from the Manhattan Brothers to Skwatta Camp; from Masekela, Makeba and the Mahotella Queens to Prophets of Da City and Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

From there you can decide what you want to explore further - whether it's trad Zulu guitars, gospel, kwaito, township jazz or Cape Town house and drum'n'bass...Afrika Underground which Matt recommends is very good but probably not what you are looking for , Des, if you are seeking a good overview of what's happening now and/or the history that brought us there. It's a comp of 70s/80s underground jazz, which is a very specialised if rich and fertile area....

[matt]

Pele Pele was recently re-issued by Gallo. But yes I hear you criminal....I don't think his best work from the late seventies, Sangoma, has ever been reissued. Heres a discography I'm working on for my blog:
FYI...

Studio and Live only (compilations excluded)
The Castle Lager Jazz Festival 1964 (CDJPL 4041)
The Indenous Afro-Jazz Sounds of Phillip Tabane and his Malombo Jazzman (UPL 5009, 1969)
Music of the Spirit (3rd Ear Music 1971)
Pele Pele (ATC 8003, 1973)
Sangoma (ATH 4024, 1978)
Malombo (KAYA (e) 300, 1984)
Umhh! (1989 Electra/Nonesuch)
Ke A Bereka (Gallo, 1997)
Muvhango (Gallo 1998)