Two songs today. They have nothing in common.

First, I don’t know what made me think of Letta Mbulu this morning. Maybe it’s the below-zero morning temperatures that make me long for warm climates, or the blue skies outside, or the transport union strife in France. Who knows. Point is, Kube is what I need this morning.

Second, those of you who keep up with the Africanambiance forum may already have it, or you might have heard them on Soul Sides or Matsuli, but Wganda Kenya is also what I need this morning.

Ah, the mid-week playlist.

Letta Mbulu - Kube
Wganda Kenya - El Evangelio Calypso

A really quick post before I have to run into work.

Today’s track is once again from an Original Music release, Siya Hamba! 1950s South African Country And Small Town Sounds, a compilation of popular music in South Africa at the time.

I agree with the liner notes when they refer to the 1950s as the glory days of South African music. Upbeat rhythms with wonderful female lead vocals were just a couple of the highlights of the era.

I should say at least that the title of today’s track appropriately translates into the title of today’s post. I’d go on but I can’t be late today! I’m sure that, as always, Benn loxo listeners will fill in the gaps where needed in the comments.

So enjoy this smalltown jump as I fly out the door…

The Jury Mpelho Band feat. Irene Buyiswa Ndumo - Puma Endlini Yam

A random morning shuffle of not-yet-listened-to albums brings us Lungiswa’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s classic, Inner City Blues, sung in the Xhosa language.

Lungiswa is a young South African female vocalist from Cape Town. You may know her already from her work with Amampondo.

I thought I’d have a dig around for other versions of the song in my collection.

Have a listen to the original, plus a live version from Gaye’s Last Concert tour (that wasn’t really the last). Marc Moulin’s rendition is easily my favourite, and the New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band whips up a version that for whatever reason reminds me of a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film.

If any of you have any good covers of Inner City Blues to share, send them to me and I’ll include them in this post.

ps- sorry, I just realized that podcasts have been broken for a while. They’re fixed now. Podcast link is http://bennloxo.com/?feed=rss2, or iptc://bennloxo.com/?feed=rss2 to open in iTunes directly.

Lungiswa - Inner City Blues (Xhosa version)
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Live)
Marc Moulin - Inner City Blues
Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Inner City Blues
Brian Auger - Inner City Blues Thanks, Francois

If you’ve been reading Benn loxo for a while you’ll know that I can’t stick to a style. Benn loxo is all over the place. Some days I wake-up wanting 45rpm crackle and on others I miss the clean beep of crispy electronic.

That said, I’ve secretly been loving a drum n bass throw-back these last few days thanks to a mix in the mail from Fabric. I haven’t two-stepped in a long time but this Irish kid, Calibre, has got me rockin a breakbeat on my Velib’. I also have a particular fondness for the Irish…

So how do you work rnb-infused, London scene, Irish drum n bass into an African music web site? You dig out a kwaito mix that someone just passed you, that’s how.

Happy Wednesday.

Calibre feat. DRS - Hustlin’
Revolution feat. P. Tabane - Vhavenda (Revolution remix)

Another Benn loxo reader, Rob, came through huge this week with no less than six Original Music releases that I don’t already have. That puts my mini-collection at twelve. Nothing compared to this guy, but one day I’ll have all 39. If that ever happens maybe I’ll see what I can do about getting them re-released. I wonder who now holds the rights..

Africa Dances is an Original Music compilation from way back in 1973. It features music from 13 African countries, from Mozambique to Ethiopia to Sierra Leone. I already own about half of the music featured on the album, but there were still a few gems in there that I’d never heard.

Easily my favourite on the compilation is Miss Smodern by a South African group named, surprisingly, Smodern. This great track is begging for a clean-up and a remake. And I’ve never posted any music from Zambia on Benn loxo so we’ll hear some interesting sounds by John Lushi.

There’s a good interview with Original Music’s founder, John Storm Roberts, here. I also just found an aging blog of his on Blogger. Does anyone know him? From what I can tell he’s 71 and lives in NY.. I think I’ll try to get in touch.

ps- just realized that I already posted some Broadway Dance Band off Africa Dances way back in November 2004. Apparently I lost the album in the Dakar-Paris move.. glad it’s back in the collection!

Smodern - Miss Smodern
John Lushi - Bamgufya Ba Kwoti

Every one of the three Golden Afrique compilations is awesome. (Thanks, Network Medien.) All three of today’s tracks are awesome. Friday after work is awesome. This weather, even though it spells doom for my children, is awesome too.

The third in the Golden Afrique series was released last fall. It focuses on mid-20th century music from southern Africa. A lot of my favourites are in there. Sold-out at Stern’s with good reason, it’s just as strong as its predecessors. Thanks to Benn loxo listener, bullet-dodger and shiny brushed aluminum obsessor, Ben, I just got my hands on it.

If you were an early adopter you might have already listened to Tuku on Benn loxo. The Soul Brothers have played here before, too. Dolly Rathebe, however, is a new member of the club. She’s pictured on today’s post.

You can read more about Rathebe’s story here. I love that her name, Dolly, became South African slang for “okay”. Next time someone asks how you’re doing answer back, “I’m dolly.”

Soul Brothers - Bayeza
Oliver Mtukudzi - Rugare Rwamangwana
Dolly Rathebe - Kitty’s Blues

I don’t know about you, but that Beninois Polyrythmo yesterday got me in the mood for some more 1970s electric bass and organ. Paris is grey-grey today, too, so we need some spice.

The Boy’s Doin’ It was originally released in 1976 following Hugh Masekela’s foray into the funk-laden world of Fela Kuti’s West Africa. Bands in Lagos and Accra were cranking out loads of amazing highlife, soul and afrobeat at the time and Masekela wanted in.

After a somewhat unsuccessful venture with Ghanaian highlife band, Hedzolleh, he was looking for something to match the success of his 1968 hit, Grazing in the Grass. In 1975 Masekela formed a new band and signed with Casablanca records.. and the resulting sounds were awesome.

Verve re-released The Boy’s Doin’ It in 1998, incorporating a few tracks from Masekela’s other Casablanca albums.

Many of you probably already have this album but if you don’t you should. Great for parties. Carl Craig remixed the title track last year sparking a bunch of kids who might never otherwise listen to classic African soul and funk to rush out and hit the crates. I guess that’s part of what this site is all about too. Does anyone have the Metro Area remix of Mama?

Hugh Masekela - You Told Your Mama Not to Worry
Hugh Masekela - Ashiko
Hugh Masekela - In the Jungle

Today we have a guest post by Benn loxo listener and good friend, Caroline, in Amsterdam:

“And the Oscar goes to…..” This year the South African director Gavin Hood climbed up the stage and held the golden statue proudly above his head. The Academy judged his film Tsotsi the best foreign picture. In Amsterdam the film was shown during the Amnesty Film Festival so even more reason for me to go see it. The story is about Tsotsi, a ruthless young gang leader in Soweto. He is immersed in a world of violence which seems to leave him unaffected. He has no hope for a change or redemption until he discovers a baby in the back seat of a car he has stolen.

I was touched by the movie – it was beautifully shot and the casting was excellent. The soundtrack was wonderful too and fit perfectly with the rest of the production. Most of the songs were by Zola. Zola, né Bonginkosi Dlamini, grew up in Zola, one of the slums of the South Western Townships (Soweto) where the film was shot. It was in these backstreets where he emerged as South Africa’s Kwaito superstar.

When I listen to this music I find myself in the middle of Soweto again. I am dancing, this time not to the sounds of The Soul Brothers but to the loving lawlessness of a lost generation of hopefuls who survive on pure emotional resonance and heat.

Thanks, Caroline. Amazing post. -Matt

Zola - Mdlwembe

Guest post today by Benn loxo listener, Grant:

“A lot of south african mbaqanga music is ruled by three chord theory but the musicians don’t seem to get tired of it. they just dig it deeper and deeper.

The Soul Brothers had been producing hits in South Africa for twenty years before they brought out this album. So it’s no wonder the playing on this album is super tight. These guys play like they are one, and like a lot of good african musicians everyone knows their respectful place in the band and no one seriously tries to steal the show.

The intensity of this song is very captivating, it’s like a hard fast ride you can’t get off of. Hard driving bass lines, shimmering vocals and a swirling accordion-modernizing Hammond B-3 organ kicks and swings this track from start to finish.

pump up the bass!”

Today’s track comes off the 1995 Earthworks release, Jump & Jive, by The Soul Brothers. Thanks, Grant!

Soul Brothers - Abantu (People)

Guest post today by Benn loxo listener, Matt:

Vikings feat. Al Bentley - Kansas City
Recently I discovered that my second cousin was South Africa’s “king” of rock and roll. After some digging amongst family members and some web research and requests I managed to get a CD-R of his hits. The music is mostly derivative of the imported rock and roll songs and no original material appears to have been written until much later in the decade. This particular tune is taken from the first South African rock and roll LP Rock Party at the Club Pepsi with the Vikings, RCA Victor

Dark City Sisters - Shala Shala Twist
On the other side of the tracks, in musical hotspots such as Sophiatown and elsewhere, black musicians were also taking on the American sounds they were hearing. Only this time they seemed to take ownership of them. A good example is Shala Shala Twist by the Dark City Sisters. This is sung inthe urban lingua-franca of the day - tsotsitaal, an urban mix of Afrikaans, English and Zulu - where they ask “Sonny, come look, we play Shala Shala Twist. Mother, oh, please come judge us doing the Shala Shala Twist”.

The music on this home compiled CD-r was made possible by two other compilations long since deleted. These are “Flying Rock - South African Rock ‘n Roll 1950-1962 (Global Village)” and “Money No Be Sand -1960s Afro-Lypso, Pidgin Highlife, Afro-Soul and Afro-Rock from Nigeria and Ghana (Original Music)” (which was featured here a while back on Benn loxo)

Links:
South African rock and roll archives
South Africa - The Hidden Years
South Africa - Music Styles

The Vikings feat. Al Bentley - Kansas City
Dark City Sisters - Shala Shala Twist

The Manhattan Brothers dominated the black South African musical scene during much of the 1940s and 50s. They recorded, toured and performed under difficult circumstances given the political climate of early-apartheid South Africa. Despite occasional jailings, troubles getting visas and general discrimination they managed to attain great success.

They played with many greats over the years and inspired a whole generation of black South African musicians such as Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. Among others, Miriam Makeba got her start singing with them.

Their style is simple, catchy and straight-up representative of the time. They borrow from American jazz and soul influences but still come off with a distinct sound.

Throw these tracks on this Valentine’s night after a few glasses of wine, and then twist real close to that lady…

You can get both of these songs on their greatest hits album that came out in 2000.

The Manhattan Brothers - Yaku Yaku
The Manhattan Brothers feat. Miriam Makeba - Ntyilo Ntyilo

Benn loxo listener, Scott, has a guest post for us today. Listen past the initial 80s synth to hear interesting, politicised lyrics and melody that he describes below:

“The song “Weeping” has an interesting history, both in itself and in how I found it. The song first came to my attention as sung by Vusi Mahlasela, about whom Matt has posted before. He sang a chilling, inspired version of the song with the backing of the Soweto String Quartet on his 1994 album Silang Mabele (it’s also included on his 2003 US-released compilation The Voice / Ilivi Lebantfu). Vusi calls it a song of reconciliation, a song critical of the architecture of apartheid with lyrics written by a white South African who served as a conscripted soldier. You can read the song’s lyrics here.

I thought the music was by Vusi until this year, when the Soweto Gospel Choir included the song on their new album Blessed, and I discovered that the song was originally done by the South African rock group Bright Blue in 1987. You’ll notice that the song includes the melody of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika,” the Black South African anthem, which has since been incorporated into the new official national anthem, but back in 1987 anyone performing it was courting arrest.

Such a history, and a song that brings a shiver to the spine. By the way, Bright Blue drummer Peter Cohen is now with the delightful South African pop band Freshlyground.”

Thanks, Scott, for the music and background. Let this be a reminder to others that guest posts are always welcome!

Bright Blue - Weeping

Happy new year, Benn loxo listeners. I know it’s been a while (again), but I’m over it.. and so are you once you listen to today’s selections. In fact, why don’t I do a few posts to play catch-up. I’d rather do this than clean-up my apartment. You see, last night was games night and there are cards, whisky glasses and poker chips everywhere.

South African pop music started hitting Western ears when the marabi sound emerged in the early decades of the 20th century. Marabi mixed American-style blues and jazz with some of the traditional forms popular at the time with black youth in South African urban centers.

To keep the post somewhat seasonal: at some stage during my family’s Christmas party someone inevitably busts out some Elvis’ Blue Christmas, sung or recorded. It’s a personal favourite. So it’s with great pleasure that I bring you some Elvis imitation post-marabi South African 1950s pop music from Benoni Rocket. Not only does Rocket have a great name, but his voice is smooth and the guitar jangle jangles just the way I like it on a Thursday.

Zim, thanks as always. Ms. Irish and the TristeOne, this music may just motivé me up to Gambetta for that late night dance afterall…

ps- that’s not Rocket in the photo, but instead Kool Keith from his album, Black Elvis.

Benoni Rocket - I’m Gonna Rocket
Benoni Rocket - I’m Gonna Shake Rattle and Roll
Benoni Rocket - Last Night

I’ve been meaning for some time to post some kwaito music from South Africa. I couldn’t find the discs I’d bought while down there, but I picked up a couple more recently so we’ll do some sampling.

Kwaito is sort of a mix of dancehall, house and hiphop that emerged out of the South African townships after apartheid. It’s now the unofficial sound of South African urban youth, and one of the truly original new musical sounds coming out of the continent.

The track I’m posting is a touch old - late 2000 - but still sounds good and is representative of a lot of what you’ll hear. If you’re interested in a more modern sound I’d recommend checking out Zola. I’ll see if I can dig some of his music up for a post this week, or just go buy it.

You can find today’s track on the 2001 EMI South Africa compilation Ezimtoti Kwaito Hits.

Tokollo - Indlovu Iyangena

Ismail Mohamed-Jan, better known as Pops Mohamed, is an important figure in the South African jazz and traditional music scenes. What sets him apart from the others is his combination of fierce devotion to preserving and promoting local styles and his tendency to experiment with electronic music and production styles.

Well liked both at home and abroad, Pops Mohamed has been playing various instruments for various bands including about a half a dozen solo releases, for the last twenty or so years. One of his early influences was Abdullah Ibrahim, a great South African jazz musician featured on the Freedom Blues album I posted a track from.

The track I picked for today’s post demonstrates this particularly well, mixing several kinds of percussion and electronic noises with flute, mbira and electric bass. I also picked this one because, as those who’ve been listening to the music on this site for a while will know, I have a particular weakness for the mbira. It’s off his second latest release, 2000’s How Far Have We Come?.

Pops Mohamed - Mbira Shuffle

A Benn loxo du taccu listener, Joe, wrote me an e-mail wondering whether I could post the first track off the South African jazz album that I mentioned the other day.

Joe sent me a copy of Sean Bergin, a South African ex-pat saxophone player, and Ernst Reijseger, a dutch cellist, playing Yakal N’Komo. He wondered whether Winston Ngozi’s version on the Freedom Blues album was the original. I have no idea, but if anyone else does please post a comment.

Either way, here’s the supposed original and a nice-sounding cover. Perfect music for 5:45pm on a sunny Dakar Sunday afternoon, no?

ps- let this also be a reminder that requests and e-mails are always welcome.

Winston “Mankunku” Ngozi - Yakal N’Komo (A young bull crying for his mother)
Sean Bergin & Ernst Reijseger - Yakal N’Komo

I’ve read both negative and postive reviews of Freedom Blues - South African Jazz Under Apartheid. Some feel that it’s an inspiring collection of uplifting jazz music by black musicians who, despite living under the brutal repression of South African apartheid, still managed to crank out great music. Others feel that the music on the album is just another example of African pop imitating American musical style, and that the “joyous” sound has more to do with sounding like John Coltrane than expressing a desire for freedom or happiness. Still others think that the real “freedom music” of South Africa sounds nothing like this.

Personally, I don’t care. Bottom-line is that “despite this” or “not despite that” there were some amazing jazz musicians living and playing in South Africa and Zimbabwe during the apartheid years. The most well-known among them are of course Dollar Brand and Hugh Masekela, but the album also features several lesser-known talents.

I had a hard time picking a track to post. I finally settled on Dollar Brand because I play piano and like to think that in another life I may have been able to play as well as he does. Give this track some time - it breaks nicely at around the first minute.

Dollar Brand - Bombella

A while ago I wrote a post about Amampondo, a great Xhosa group from a town near Cape Town, South Africa, who specialize in marimba music. Today we’re going to listen to Madosini, another South African musician interested in preserving local culture and history who once sung with Amampondo.

Known as “The Veteran” in her homeland of Mpondoland-Transkei, Madosini is an amaMpondo musician who uses the uhadi (music bow), umhrubhe (mouth bow) and isistoloto (Jewish harp) to accompany her rhythmic singing, chanting and dancing. Her performances are more theatre than straight music as she mixes them with story-telling and traditional dance.

Madosini has a dual political agenda: preserving indigenous culture and fighting for women’s rights in Africa and beyond. She has done much to awaken South Africans, particularly the Xhosa peoples (whose music I love so much in case you haven’t noticed), to their own rich musical and and cultural history. She’s also empowered a whole generation of women to assert themselves in the face of an often misogynistic society.

Musically she has a very unique sound. Today’s pick is particularly cool in my opinion because of its dub feel - hypnotic. You can buy the album for download here if you’re into it.

Madosini - Nozimanga (Uthando Luphelile Dub)

I’ve had quite a few requests for some Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. You’ll recognize the South African mbaqanga sound if you tuned in a few posts ago. It’s Zulu pop music that came out of the townships of South Africa’s big cities during the 1970s. (That’s only sort of true. It’s been around since the 60s but mbaqanga as you might know it - in its electric, energized form - wasn’t too popular until the mid-70s.) Mahlathini was right in there with the first of them to popularize the style and was the most well-known voices (or groaners) of mbaqanga.

The Mahotella Queens call their particular flavour of mbaqanga mqashiyo. I read something that likened them to a Southern African version of the Supremes. This seems right on point since their synchronized dancing and harmonized backup vocals really remind me of the soul train ladies from the American 60s.

Mahlathini didn’t really get popular outside of South Africa until the mid-1980s when a track that he released on a South African musical sampler got some attention in the US. Following that he went on tour with the Mahotella Queens and they all attained international success fairly quickly.

Two tracks today: one from Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens off their album The Lion Roars, and another solo work by the Queens off 1991’s Marriage Is A Problem. Both tracks are heavy on the harmonies that I like so much. Mahlathini’s groaning will be featured in another post some time in the future…

ps- Yes, the song choices reflect what I’m thinking about while bored at work today. And yes, that’s you, K.

Mahotella Queens -Selailai (Attractive woman)
Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens - Khubetswana Yeso (Light-skinned woman)

I know this is stupid of me, but I love saying the word Xhosa. The way you get to click your tongue off the top of your mouth on the ‘X’, and the kick I get when I manage to slip it into a sentence without pausing to reorganize my mouth.

The Xhosa people are actually called the amaXhosa and they speak isiXhosa, a Bantu language. They’re one of the major ethnic groups in South Africa and comprise a large part of the ANC - South Africa’s ruling coalition party. Nelson Mandela is a Xhosa.

They’ve been pushed around for years, first to the West by the Zulus and then East by the Boers. Eventually the British/Boer colonial governments forced them to take-up lands in present-day Eastern Cape where most of them still live.

No longer oppressed, the rich Xhosa culture is flourishing. Aside from a beautiful language the amaXhosa have a long tradition of dancing and music. One group that captures this tradition particularly well is Amampondo.

Although they’re now touring the world and signed to MELT, Amampondo is still based in their hometown of Langa, a township outside of Cape Town, South Africa. They mix all kinds of traditional Xhosa musical and dance styles with some modern rhythms and instruments to come up with a pretty unique sound. They’re most famous for their marimba music and you’ll see why on today’s two tracks off their 2000 album Vuyani.

ps- I hope it’s pretty obvious why I picked today’s first song.

Amampondo - State of Emergency
Amampondo - 915