Washington, DC — Rough Guide to the Music of South Africa (2nd Edition)
Compiled by Phil Stanton
South African music is gaining greater recognition beyond the borders of this African country. During the anti-apartheid era South African musicians contributed to the struggle through their music. Not only did they entertain their audiences as musicians everywhere, but they also inspired the vast majority of these denigrated blacks whose hope for decent life and respectable humanity was dimmed by the realities of daily life. As a result of the challenges facing their society many musical groups formed and became the vehicles of entertainment and inspiration for political and social change in the country.
In this CD Phil Stanton brings together a rich collections of musical pieces. These are tracks that expose the non-South African to songs in the different ethnic languages as well as in South African English. The songs are very familiar to local South Africans and their local radio and television channels give them great visibility through regular broadcast. Here the compiler wishes to familiarize us with a rich harvest.
In listening to these songs one is struck by the following observations. First, the lyrics of the different songs underscore and celebrate moments in the history of the South African people. There are songs that captured the struggles and the anxieties of the black campaign against apartheid. Singers such as Mariam Makeba enjoy global stardom and her entry in this CD represents the quality and popularity of the musical pieces contained herein. Starting with Bush Mhlongo's Yehisan Umoya Ma-Afrika, the CD presents us with South Africans affirmation of their solidarity with Africa beyond the Limpopo river. Umuntu Ngumuntu by Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens reinforces the message of African solidarity and the dreams of the African personality in a renascent South Africa. This phenomenon which I describe as musical Pan Africanism, is echoed in the African reggae of Lucy Dube , in the Mbube of Solomon Linda's Original Evening Bird, in the Mama Ka S' Bongile of Soul Brothers and in Wamukhona Yini E New York of Ladysmith Black Mambo. For example, this last group is known as the exponents of iscathamiya, the capella style born in the mines of South Africa. Certainly, this song and others in the Zulu tongue have immortalized them in the annals of African and global musical history. Similarly, Nothembi is another example of a singer from the Ndebele ethnic group whose talents helped her entertain her countrymen and women at weddings and cultural events. In her case, she preserves her cultural heritage with both her voice and the accompanying music instruments.
Another observation is the heterogeneity of musical styles in the collection. Not only does the CD offers us this all- new second edition of The Rough Guide to the Music of South Africa, it provides us with a data track that includes an interview with the compiler. The compiler has succeeded in bringing together musical forms and styles from groups that have formed and performed since the 1950's . A review of the songs takes on memory land for those who have followed the joys and pangs of homo ludus in South Africa. Man the player needs entertainment for both pleasure and distraction. Here in this collection, one is given a guide tour in the now well established tradition of the Rough Guide to the music of the World.
The third observation of this review is the fact that the songs selected here tells the story of South African music from the perspective of the black majority and in doing so it grants the listener the opportunity to connect the historical and musicological threads that not only trace the path of development of South African music and musicians but also creative adoption of music forms and styles from the West. This is clearly evident in the pieces from the Soweto String Quartet, Big Voice Jack. However, it should be quickly added that Dom Hansie (the pseudonym used by Lucky Dube) wrote and performed music designed for Afrikaans/Zulu speaking audience. But as noted by the compiler, Dom Hansie's songs " are certainly in no way representative of mainstream Afrikaans music."
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The final observation is that this CD is a significant introduction to South African music and any persons who wishes to understand and appreciate how music forms and styles have combined to define the nature and reality of this part of the African cultural world, must give credit to the compiler and the World Music Network. I strongly recommend this CD to music lovers and to those who are genuinely interested in African societies and cultures.
About the reviewer
Eucharia Mbachu was a journalist with The Emirate News in United Arab Emirates. She currently resides in the United States where she teaches and writes feature articles. Her interests are in education, politics, Human Rights, and culture.
