Nascente (label)
08 November 2010 (released)
20 November 2010
Paul Simon’s album ‘Graceland’ was influenced very greatly by the sounds that he found in South Africa and in particular in Soweto.
The biggest of the stars that were around in Soweto at that time were the Mahotella Queens and this compilations sees them coupled with The Soul Brothers who were the ‘other’ stars of the time.
But my recollection from the late seventies in London was that the SA drinking clubs seemed to play them about equally, and constantly, and the basslines and harmonies invigorated more than a couple of lost evenings in Harrow Road.
I was more than a little intrigued to see whether the music had survived the intervening years but very, very happy with the results.
The Mahotella Queens stayed fairly close to their Kwazulu roots and the music is rich with their voices and with the heavyiness of Simon Nkabinde (Mahlathini) vocal counterpoint but the songs have a wonderful sense of a choir giving praise as well as being danceable as all heck. The Soul Brothers are more funk-laden and couple the bubbling basslines of mbaqanga with very western organ and funk rhythms and gospel arrangements.
Of the two discs the Queens is probably the more satisfying but there is a huge amount of pleasure to be gained from both sets and you couldn’t pick a standout number from either of them – just press ‘play’ and settle back for the ride.
The two cds really show a great deal of the strength of the music that was being created in South Africa in the late 60’s and through to the nineties and in conjunction with labels like Analog Africa are beginning to introduce 21st century western ears to some great music that has been missed either for political of fashion reasons.
