'Tomorrow' (AFS036) features songs from three of Ntombi Ndaba's solo albums originally released between 1988 and 1991 on her own label Anneko after previously recording as the band Ntombi & Survival. Released in 2018 it is being repressed this year and is available for pre-orders now via @rushhourstore (🔗 in bio)
Happy birthday to mama Ntombi Ndaba!💝 To mark the day here's an interview after the release of her 2018 compilation Tomorrow (AFS036) and before she toured Europe in 2019 with @esawilliams - it's in her mother tongue isiZulu and part of a longer feature for LOBE Media's 'By Hand & Mind' web series which went up a few months ago (link in bio to watch the full video)
🎥 Kagiso Mnisi www.lobemedia.live
Sandy B, South African kwaito pioneer, links up with Belgian producer on Afrosynth.
Two artists with a shared conviction that music is inherently political, channelling that urgency into seven tracks of kwaito-rooted but forward thinking electronic music!
Music with something to say.
Heading back to @the_commons_muizenberg this Sunday, this time with @dansoultraveller who will be taking a day off from @ashe_band to spin some records for us. Monday is a public holiday (Freedom Day) so if you're in the deep south, pull in!
Sad news about the recent passing of Melvyn Matthews, the songwriter of Brenda & The Big Dudes' 1983 hit ‘Weekend Special’, the song that launched the career of Brenda Fassie and kicked off the bubblegum era in South Africa, as well as its B-side ‘Life is Going On’. As a solo artist he released singles such as 'Red Red Wine' (1983) and 'Don’t Give My Love Away' (1984) and albums 'Melvyn' (1985), 'Mind Your Own Business' (1989), 'Personally Yours' (1998) and 'Brand New Day' (2011). His fame as the ‘Weekend Special’ songwriter overshadowed his solo exploits and he spent much of the subsequent decades chasing the royalties and respect he felt were not fairly given to him. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Gqeberha a few days ago.
I was very lucky to meet and interview him back in 2012 and asked him to sign one of his records where he left a beautiful note. In his memory the interview has been published at (🔗 in bio). In it he explains how he got his start in music, the recording of 'Weekend Special' and his battle for acknowledgement.
RIP Bra Mella
South African kwaito pioneer Sandy B has joined forces with versatile Belgian producer soFa elsewhere to create a powerful, politically charged album, 'Forward in Reverse (Pt. 1)', out very soon on Afrosynth Records.
Their collaboration started in the shadow of ongoing genocide and atrocities in various parts of the world, with a shared conviction: music is political. Together they’ve channelled this into their work, creating tracks that resonate with defiance, hope and a demand for change - a rallying cry for justice, unity and transformation. May even the most privileged wake up and join the struggle for a better future for all.
Pre-order AFS058 now via @rushhourstore@rhd_rushhourdistribution at the 🔗 in bio.
Here's another snippet from the upcoming album 'Forward in Reverse (Pt. 1)' by Sandy B and soFa elsewhere. 'Politicians' opens side B and like the other tracks on the album resonates with defiance, hope and a demand for change.
The album artwork takes inspiration from the artist himself. While most of his contemporaries who emerged in the 90s have long since hung up their mics, many passing on, Sandy remains as active and sharp as ever, travelling the world in recent years and collaborating with a host of producers and artists. His open mind, warm heart, discipline and athleticism have kept him ageless — timeless. With this 'immortality' in mind, the artwork envisions Sandy as a comic-book superhero in a Durban of the future — perhaps in 100 years' time. The city remains largely the same: its downtown area (here symbolised by the iconic Westpoint Lodge) wedged between its harbour and beachfront overlooking the warm Indian Ocean. By night as the tropical heat lifts, Sandy roams its palm tree-lined streets — observing, hustling, protecting the vulnerable, inspiring and entertaining.
The artwork was done by Cape Town-born and now Paris-based digital illustrator Darren Christian @big_diff_ (No AI was used, in case you are wondering).
Pre-order 'Forward in Reverse (Pt. 1)' AFS058 now via @rushhourstore at the 🔗 in bio
Music Team was one of South Africa’s most influential independent labels, central in shaping township disco, boogie and the bubblegum era that followed.
New in: Kalita’s Music Team Boogie Essentials EP pulls five prime cuts from the label’s late 70s to mid-80s disco and boogie stretch. A sharp, well-chosen slice of the catalogue!
The Afrosynth sampler, focusing on the later 86–92 bubblegum phase, is back in as well.
Here's a short snippet of another track from the upcoming album 'Forward in Reverse (Pt. 1)' by @sandybworld and @sofa_elsewhere - 'Khuluma Kakhulu' (talk too much) is a plea to listen more and talk less 🙊 sound advice that ties in with the album's political message. The full track is now up on the Afrosynth SoundCloud - preorder AFS058 via @rhd_rushhourdistribution (🔗 In bio)
