the music selection from “World Africa” #184

Every Friday, The world Africa presents three new music releases from or inspired by the continent. This week the focus is on South African artists doing international collaborations between folk, jazz and electronic.

“woman”, until Marthe & Pilani Bubu

In Zulu the expression “no’indaba” means “important conversation,” while“Story” refers to a meeting of traditional leaders who come together to discuss social issues. No, Indaba, This is exactly the title that the French “Transoriental Jazz Rock” group Marthe and the South African singer Pilani Bubu chose for their joint album, which was released on Friday, April 19th, and in which they focus on concrete social facts about history interests and current events in the “Rainbow Nation”.

The place of South Africans in particular is the common thread of this record, which was recorded in a studio in the Constitution Hill district, just a stone’s throw from the Johannesburg women’s prison, and crossed with folk, soul, jazz and hip-hop influences. Like in the song Wife, where the poet, born in Mthatha (southeast) in 1984, sings the word ” Woman “ to affirm female power.

“When We Love”, en Black lives

And two for Black Lives! This collective, which emerged in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, is releasing the album this Friday people of the earth, what follows From generation to generation (2022). The recipe remains unchanged: around twenty artists from different geographical (USA, Africa, Caribbean and Europe) and musical backgrounds (jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, blues…) to demand more love, unity, equality and justice.

Jazz singer Tutu Poane, born in Pretoria, South Africa, but living in Belgium for more than twenty years, has once again answered this call, particularly with the title When we love. Like in his album Wrapped in Rhythm, Vol. 1, Published in March, it sets a text by the South African poet Lebo Mashile to music.

“The Neighborhood Giant”, de Phelimuncasi

Radical change of style with the album Nuts, appeared at the beginning of April and was born from the meeting between the South African trio Phelimuncasi, who lives in Durban and has been the author of two other works since 2020, and the London producer Jesse Hackett, who had already distinguished himself four years ago with his group Metal Preyers for years alongside the Ugandan artists Otim Alpha, Lawrence Okello and Omutaba.

The nine tracks included in this album are the result of three days of work at the studio of electronic music label Nyege Nyege Tapes in Kampala. On this occasion, Makan Nana, Khera and Malathon confronted their gqom (a typically South African style of raw and minimalist house) and Zulu skansion with the lush rhythms, saturated noises and both dark and psychedelic textures of the multi-British instrumentalist and former Gorillaz keyboardist . Confusing.