Spirits to Bite Our Ears

After the Soweto student uprising of 1976 and its violent suppression, young South Africans stepped up the fight against apartheid. In this context, traditional pop and mbaqanga gave way to music modeled on American soul, and later disco. Soul bands like the Movers rarely addressed politics directly, but they rejected the ethnic associations used to divide people under apartheid and embraced the international sound purveyed by the likes of Wilson Pickett and Percy Sledge.

The Soul Brothers, the band that would most successfully realize the South African soul concept, grew out of a group called the Groovy Boys in Natal in 1970, led by bassist Zenzele “Zakes” Mchunu. Mchunu, along with drummer David Masondo and guitarist Tuza Mthethwa, went to work in textile factory when the Groovy Boys failed to pay the rent. They changed the group’s name to Young Brothers, but the real turning point came when they moved to Johannesburg. Life was tough for the band as they sought jobs and lived in abandoned buildings. Their first break came when they recorded with The Mthembu Queens. In 1974, they changed their name to Soul Brothers. David Masondo came forward to sing with his unique, quavering voice. The band then recruited organist Moses Ngwenya in 1976, and he added a unique, Booker T, Jimmy Smith element with his powerful Hammond B-3 playing. From the moment they recorded their first two singles in 1976, the Soul Brothers were consistent hit makers.

Although the Soul Brothers’ music is now routinely described as ‘mbaqanga’, this has more to do with the ultimate elasticity of that term than any generic or historical exactitude.  In fact, in the 1970s, the group might well have taken offence at such a classification!  No skins, bellowing bass vocals or solo sax jives for them – this was a ‘soul band’, slickly outfitted in the latest and best urban fashion while offering a sophisticated, if heavily Africanised, take on American soul music as exemplified by James Brown, Otis Redding, Joe Tex and many others.

Formed in 1982, in strikingly unusual circumstances for a musical ensemble, Tinariwen blend ancient musical traditions with radical contemporary politics. Despite severe natural and man-made hardships, young Kel Tamashek exiles continued performing the traditional music of their Tuareg forebears in the southern Sahara while simultaneously fighting against the government of Mali. Forced to seek an alternative to starvation and repression in drought-stricken Mali, many of these young nomads hoped to attain a better life by striking up what proved to be an uneasy alliance with Libya. The hoped-for aid in their struggle with the Mali government failed to materialize, but in the meantime some of the rebels had evolved a form of music that kept alive the music of their forefathers while simultaneously communicating radical political messages. This music is known as tishoumaren, music of the ishumar (the unemployed). Usually performed by groups of 30 and more instrumentalists and singers, tishoumaren acknowledges contemporary western music, especially rock, as well as other music forms prevalent in the Middle East, while never losing touch with the original ancient form.

Gnawa originates with the Gnawa brotherhoods: these religious and social organisations are comprised of the descendents of West Africans who were brought across the Sahara to Marrakech as slaves centuries ago.

Nuru left Morocco with the Guimbri (three stringed bass lute also known as the Sintir) and returned to Paris where he formed his own ensemble named ‘Bayefall Gnawa’ whose music reflects the meeting between North and West African musical styles. Byefall Gnawa consists of Djeli Makan Sissoko on n’goni and tama and Thierry Fournel on oud, guitar and sanza.

There's a plethora of talented Senegalese singer-songwriters around at the moment, but few have the musical breadth of Nuru Kane. Starting out playing good-time party mbalax (think early Youssou N'Dour) he had a rethink after visiting Marrakech. The result is trance-like gnawa meets Senegalese soul, meets Malian blues, meets Fela Kuti, with a touch of Bob Marley.

Nuru Kane was born in the Senegalese capital of Dakar in the 1970s. He migrated to Paris in the 1990s where his multi-instrumentalism as a guitarist, bass player and singer put him in high demand both as a solo artist and as a guest for other ensembles.

Part of the special appeal of Kasai Allstars' music comes from the diversity and charisma of the band's vocalists – no less than six of them perform lead vocals on the album – and instrumentalists (see details).

Kasaï Allstars is a collective revolving around 25 musicians from six bands, all from the Kasaï region, but originating from five different ethnic groups, each with their own culture, their own language and their own musical traditions, which were always thought to be incompatible until these musicians decided to pool their resources and form this "superband".

Although this blog mostly looks at the music of Africa and current events going on in the continent, there will also be times where other musical styles and cultural groups from around the world are posted.

The Mevlevi Order (often called the Mevlevihane, or more vulgarly the Whirling Dervishes) are a branch of Sufism that base their teachings off of a 13th century Persian Muslim poet, mystic, and theologian known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī   (also referred to as Mevlana)

During his long career he released numerous recordings, with some international releases. He was imprisoned on several occasions for lyrics that were perceived as crossing the line into political criticism.

Daniel Owino Misiani, more than any other Kenyan musician, has helped to develop and advance the modern guitar dance music of the Luo people known as "Benga." Born in 1940, he founded his first band, the Victoria Boys, in 1965. The group's name was changed to the Shirati Luo Voice sometime in the late '60s or early '70s, and has undergone a number of appellation and personnel changes over the years, usually under the name Shirati Jazz or some variation thereof. One thing that has remained the same is the music's straight-ahead melodies, wiggling bass lines and wry, concise lyrics about everyday situations and personalities.  D.O. Misiani & Shirati Jazz have gained a growing number of devotees throughout the world, especially since the release of several albums in the U.K. and U.S. in the late 1980s. While benga music as a genre has faded somewhat in recent years, they continue to be a working band and retain their loyal following.

Besides experimenting with various musical genres, Sam Mangwana has sung in several different languages including Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, French, Poturguese and English. While focusing mainly on love songs , He has also sung songs that raise political and environmental awareness.