Name: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Vol. 1
Brand: Shanachie Records
SKU: 63763
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Vol. 1

Rating

Album: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Vol. 1
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Can You Pay Lobola For Me - Udokotela Shange Namajaha	More Info...
2)	Daughter In Law - Nelcy Sedibe	More Info...
3)	Fair Fight - Umahlathini Nabo	More Info...
4)	The Man In The Black Coat - Amaswazi Emvelo	More Info...
5)	The Stream Of Music - Mahlathini, Nezintombi, Zomgqashiyo & The Makgona Tsohle Band	More Info...
6)	We Will Get Them - Udokotela Shange Namajaha	More Info...
7)	Leave Him Alone - Moses Mchunu	More Info...
8)	Just Stop And Listen - Amaswazi Emvelo	More Info...
9)	We Are Waiting For You - Nganeziyamfisa No Khambalomvaleliso	More Info...
10)	I Have Made Up My Mind - Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgoashiyo	More Info...
11)	Joyce No.2 - Johnson Mkhalali	More Info...
12)	Here Is The Money - Ladysmith Black Mambazo	More Info...

Album: The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Vol. 1
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Can You Pay Lobola For Me - Udokotela Shange Namajaha	More Info...
2)	Daughter In Law - Nelcy Sedibe	More Info...
3)	Fair Fight - Umahlathini Nabo	More Info...
4)	The Man In The Black Coat - Amaswazi Emvelo	More Info...
5)	The Stream Of Music - Mahlathini, Nezintombi, Zomgqashiyo & The Makgona Tsohle Band	More Info...
6)	We Will Get Them - Udokotela Shange Namajaha	More Info...
7)	Leave Him Alone - Moses Mchunu	More Info...
8)	Just Stop And Listen - Amaswazi Emvelo	More Info...
9)	We Are Waiting For You - Nganeziyamfisa No Khambalomvaleliso	More Info...
10)	I Have Made Up My Mind - Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgoashiyo	More Info...
11)	Joyce No.2 - Johnson Mkhalali	More Info...
12)	Here Is The Money - Ladysmith Black Mambazo	More Info...

Performer Notes

Liner Note Authors: D.A. "Jumbo" Vanrenen; Trevor Herman.
Editor: D.A. "Jumbo" Vanrenen.
Photographer: Orde Eliason.
'60s Africa found the Zulu and Sotho beginning to incorporate the influences of African American R&B, jazz, and blues into their traditional, indigenous music. New styles such as township jazz, pennywhistle street music, Kwela, and marabi were formed. Eventually, these myriad styles coalesced to create a new hybrid pop music that came to be known as mbaqanga. Though mbaqanga employs the traditional instrumentation of Western pop (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals), the approach to song structure and rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic phrasing is uniquely African.
Recorded between 1981 and 1984, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BEAT OF SOWETO is the first (and arguably the best) of a slew of South African pop recordings that soon followed. Characterized by insistent, rhythmically complex beats, elastic, burbling basslines, tight, ska-sounding guitar accompaniment, and thick, multi-part vocals, this music is as intriguing as it is appealing. Groups with such names as Udokotela Shange Namajaha and Amaswazi Emvelo serve up bright, infectious melodies and percussively insistent tracks that are clearly intended for dancing. Though this "pop" may at first seem strange to Western ears, repeated listens reveal its true nature: rich, individual, joyous, and simply wonderful music.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone - Ranked #58 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Albums of 80s" survey.

Village Voice - "...an awesome cultural achievement..."

Mojo (Publisher) (12/02, p.126) - "...The accordions and the harmonies still sound as fresh as they did when dividing John Peel listeners..."