tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10545191041605266032024-03-10T04:46:56.533+02:00SHARP-FLATSouthern African Vintage Sounds & Modern ClassicsCalumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-83570065548040259172024-01-30T22:26:00.001+02:002024-01-30T22:26:28.454+02:00SF15 // WITCH - Movin' On<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklkp9hpc_A_yZvmjdBs3sfLUX2yop9emYvktqM-273at5beugI-ngJ_Vpg9vq0cWuerAkkcAwDiRvbhgduKRLrNab0sh_9kQSA6eihTHVu3x-a4GIizipJhQFiCuRFMN1WYoGpbrsqOH_3BGTbJ6DvNDgs6Vi6tJ-GSg340FRvfCIrz3On-2xlSb5NOtg/s600/witch-movin-on-600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklkp9hpc_A_yZvmjdBs3sfLUX2yop9emYvktqM-273at5beugI-ngJ_Vpg9vq0cWuerAkkcAwDiRvbhgduKRLrNab0sh_9kQSA6eihTHVu3x-a4GIizipJhQFiCuRFMN1WYoGpbrsqOH_3BGTbJ6DvNDgs6Vi6tJ-GSg340FRvfCIrz3On-2xlSb5NOtg/s16000/witch-movin-on-600.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sourced from the analog master tapes for the first time, Sharp-Flat presents the WITCH disco albums as you've never heard them before in sleeves that replicate the original album artwork.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Over the course of the 1970s, WITCH delivered an impressive run of garage, rock and prog releases. By 1980, the band was ready for a new chapter. Shuffling their lineup and relocating to Zimbabwe, they undertook their mythical transformation into an African R&B, soul and funk powerhouse. With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite albums from 1980 to 1984.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With crisp beats, funky bass, swirling synths and tight horns, 1980's <i>Movin' On</i> was a sharp departure from the group's Zamrock roots and made no bones about the fact that the WITCH was ready to embrace the sound and spirit of a new decade. Trading lead vocals with founding member Chris Mbewe are newcomers Christine Jackson and Stanford Tembo, making for a well rounded set that combines dance floor burners with mid-tempo boogie grooves. A carefully crafted, great sounding album from a seasoned ensemble, <i>Movin' On</i> is an African pop classic.</p><div style="text-align: justify;">Vocals - CHRISTINE JACKSON</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vocals - STANFORD TEMBO</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guitar & Vocal - CHRIS MBEWE</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guitar - EMMANUEL MAKULU</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fender Bass - GEDEON MULENGA</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Drums - PETER LUNGO</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Piano, Strings & Synthesiser - PATRICK MWONDELA</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vocal Harmonies - SHADDICK BWALYA</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Horns by Real Sound Horns</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brass Arrangements by Shaddick Bwalya</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced by Shaddick Bwalya</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded at Shed Studios in Harare, Zimbabwe</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Engineered by Bothwell Nyamhondera & Martin Norris</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remixed by Shaddick Bwalya, Bothwell Nyamhondera & Martin Norris</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Special thanks to Eddie Manda (Master Jam)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dedicated to David Daka</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reissue Cat. No. SF15</div><div style="text-align: justify;">℗ 1980 WITCH © 2024 Sharp-Flat Records</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/movin-on" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-66089935877170524832024-01-10T14:50:00.003+02:002024-01-30T22:22:40.116+02:00SF16 // WITCH - Kuomboka<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTgys2RToAEZSqBH1e10lsYrhADsS7NH1WrkSQ486GGKolxCmu34SI4PtRchHhrXhDgylXjQvU8NWnXqp8GtkonKoAZIA4AEnlhyphenhyphenoedu7erNpuw1eoS3qPhYp9ROCNGwwNjPgJsqgU-2HXSctB8xyUnMkINr-r1qnd1MhU0yafan5i3IKdoPgereBXGwu/s600/witch-kuomboka-600.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTgys2RToAEZSqBH1e10lsYrhADsS7NH1WrkSQ486GGKolxCmu34SI4PtRchHhrXhDgylXjQvU8NWnXqp8GtkonKoAZIA4AEnlhyphenhyphenoedu7erNpuw1eoS3qPhYp9ROCNGwwNjPgJsqgU-2HXSctB8xyUnMkINr-r1qnd1MhU0yafan5i3IKdoPgereBXGwu/s16000/witch-kuomboka-600.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sourced from the analog master tapes for the first time, Sharp-Flat presents the WITCH disco albums as you've never heard them before in sleeves that replicate the original album artwork.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Over the course of the 1970s, WITCH delivered an impressive run of garage, rock and prog releases. By 1980, the band was ready to embrace the exciting dance sounds of a new era. Shuffling their lineup and relocating to Zimbabwe, they undertook their mythical transformation into an African R&B, soul and funk powerhouse. With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite recordings during their disco years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A full-throttle boogie outing, <i>Kuomboka</i> was issued in 1984 and features rising star Patrick Chisembele stepping in on lead vocals. Despite the album's modern vision for African pop, its title refers to a traditional migration ceremony practiced by the Lozi people of the Zambezi floodplains. The album documents a seasoned ensemble with an ambitious vision and is considered the group's sonic masterpiece.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Vocals - PATRICK CHISEMBELE</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guitar & Backing Vocals - CHRIS MBEWE</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guitar - EMMANUEL MAKULU</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fender Bass - GEDEON MULENGA</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
Drums - PETER LUNGO</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Synthesisers & Electric Piano - PATRICK MWONDELA</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Backing Vocals & Percussion - SHADDICK BWALYA</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">GUEST MUSICIANS:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Brass by Real Sound Horns</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vocals - Abi Rusike & Benny Miller</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Backing Vocals - Rusike Brothers</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced by Shaddick Bwalya & Richard Nganga</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded at Shed Studios in Harare, Zimbabwe</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Engineered by Steve Roskilly</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reissue Cat. No. SF16</div><div style="text-align: justify;">℗ 1984 WITCH © 2024 Sharp-Flat Records</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/kuomboka" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-90370194617367030732023-03-17T10:46:00.007+02:002023-03-17T11:56:17.344+02:00SF14 // THE BROADWAY QUINTET - Amalume (Lekani Mowa)<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QmseLCjYnpD4bvkLIIY6cePXAp-OUmGau7S81_yF-SwAV1pX-oakQwqdZZ7_5kWcSyuY0yozA2peMezb3i7TRvpI4mL3KqDx8gvBpJniZ3936RNLlFU4qSKmcAg8_0Uz8w-BQmW7sX-BR8rTLbr4RTubibS_R_7zeLjXpI7Mqp9lJQuNnTX9Z3l2Eg/s620/broadway-quintet-amalume-620.png" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QmseLCjYnpD4bvkLIIY6cePXAp-OUmGau7S81_yF-SwAV1pX-oakQwqdZZ7_5kWcSyuY0yozA2peMezb3i7TRvpI4mL3KqDx8gvBpJniZ3936RNLlFU4qSKmcAg8_0Uz8w-BQmW7sX-BR8rTLbr4RTubibS_R_7zeLjXpI7Mqp9lJQuNnTX9Z3l2Eg/s16000/broadway-quintet-amalume-620.png" /></a><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sharp-Flat Records presents the long-awaited restoration of The Broadway Quintet's cult classic <i>Amalume (Lekani Mowa)</i> <span style="text-align: left;">–</span> a hypnotic concoction of traditional Zambian sounds and jazz-rock grooves with a twist of 1970s African psychedelia.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Emerging to serve the entertainment needs of Zambia's United National Independence Party (UNIP) in the early 1960s, The Broadway Quintet gathered seasoned talent from Lusaka's best hotel bands to fashion its esteemed lineup. Starting as a quartet and later evolving into a quintet, the group's career spanned over twenty years as favourites on the cabaret circuit and boasted a myriad of prestigious collaborations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Broadway Quintet's jazz sensibilities set them apart from the rock sound that dominated the music landscape of the 1970s. Yet the formula behind Zamrock, fusing indigenous Zambian sounds with Western pop, shaped their one and only 1976 long-player. Featuring modern arrangements of traditional songs, <i>Amalume</i> blended congas with sax sounds, folk lyrics with electric keyboard shenanigans and show business staples with jazz guitar noodling. With its psychedelic fever dream illustrated cover*, it was an explosive package of "originality and electrifying beauty" as the album's liner notes rightly attested.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Released on the Zambezi label, <i>Amalume</i> joined an exceptional run of mid-1970s offerings alongside WITCH, Ricky Banda and Crossbones. Officially licensed, carefully restored and beautifully reproduced, Zambia's most requested reissue has finally returned for everybody to enjoy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* Trevor Ford's harrowing artwork references the album's didactic title track with its warning against the perils of drinking alcohol.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Tony Maonde – Keyboards</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Zacks Gwaze – Lead Guitar, Vocals</div><div style="text-align: left;">Simanga Tutani – Bass Guitar, Sax, Vocals</div><div style="text-align: left;">Timothy Sikova – Drums, Percussion, Vocals</div><div style="text-align: left;">Jonah Marumahoko – Congas, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals</div><div style="text-align: left;">Peter Bwalya – Trumpet on "Matteo" and "Nifyo Fine"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Produced and Arranged by The Broadway Quintet for Teal Record Company</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Recorded at d.B Studios, Lusaka in 1976</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Engineers: Graham Skinner, Nikki Ashley and Peter Musungilo</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Cover Design by Trevor Ford and Gibson Tembo</div><div>Pictures by B. Nkunika</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Audio Restoration and Remastering by Colin Young at See Why Audio</div><div style="text-align: left;">Restoration copy sourced courtesy Sudeep Menon</div><div style="text-align: left;">Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick</div><div style="text-align: left;">Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Original Cat. No. ZTZ 4</div><div style="text-align: left;">Reissue Cat. No. SF14</div><div style="text-align: left;">℗ 1976 © 2023 Sharp-Flat Records</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/amalume-lekani-mowa" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><u>Original Liner Notes</u>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">They hail from such old-time groups as The Rhokana Melodies, The Crooners, De Black Evening Follies and The City Quads. It was the UNIP National Band of 1962 that brought the boys together. And they’re still together 14 years later!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tony Maonde, Zacks Gwaze, Timothy Sikova, Jonah Marumahoko, Simanga Tutani – individually, musicians of rare talent; together, The Broadway Quintet, polished night-club performers of Lusaka’s Hotel Intercontinental.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, beneath their public image there runs, like the mighty Zambezi, a creative force that explodes with originality and electrifying beauty.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">From vocal compositions like “Mr. Music” and “Change Your Mind” through the more traditional “Jiye Manguwe” and title-track “Amalume”, The Broadway Quintet move into instrumentals of the brilliance and vitality of “Matteo” and “Nifyo Fine”.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To The Broadway Quintet we say, “Thanks for a fantastic LP”.</p></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-65740609895181798002022-11-09T13:33:00.005+02:002022-11-23T18:20:55.013+02:00SF12 // ROCKART - House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5u14-lc8KShHmt_mZHWYshe5ySWSoNd6gKvoMGHb5Zin06M2kC9dOibGOCDAIR-5CUs8aXaIx9itbSNLfpMXqVUzpSBIuVeiiHp_Z3Feh8pkdXvaAuowTo2jYbxgLBFE7lugZgovDspigOwEiHZLIOIgTfHzTig0-sHxG16-IzzEKc3K58P9NhI-olg/s620/rockart-house-620.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5u14-lc8KShHmt_mZHWYshe5ySWSoNd6gKvoMGHb5Zin06M2kC9dOibGOCDAIR-5CUs8aXaIx9itbSNLfpMXqVUzpSBIuVeiiHp_Z3Feh8pkdXvaAuowTo2jYbxgLBFE7lugZgovDspigOwEiHZLIOIgTfHzTig0-sHxG16-IzzEKc3K58P9NhI-olg/s16000/rockart-house-620.jpg" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Mystical, minimal house offering hailing from South Africa in the mid-2000s courtesy of Cape Town indie labels Sharp-Flat and Roastin' Records.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">RockArt was</span><span style="text-align: left;"> a </span><span style="text-align: left;">hybrid-electro performance art project that </span><span style="text-align: left;">emerged during a golden age for electronic music in the Cape, the post-Y2K scene spurred by the maverick African Dope record label that marked the rise of cult outsiders Felix Laband and Tudor Watkins Jones. Harnessing the combined powers of seasoned jazz musicians Hilton Schilder and Alex van Heerden, RockArt cooked up a signature futurist formula laced with musical bows and voice samples that was unmistakably indigenous. Intended as a companion to the group's <i>Future Cape</i> album of 2006, <i>House</i> was conceived as a long-form soundscape of </span><span style="text-align: left;">tribal electronica </span><span style="text-align: left;">that could stand alone on its own merits but also provide a backdrop for live instrumental improvisation. The project was shelved following the untimely death of Alex van Heerden in 2009 but emerges from Hilton Schilder's archive as a reminder of the duo's profound collaborative alchemy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Running at 28 minutes over two sides of a 12-inch maxi cut at 45RPM, <i>House</i> is available as a boutique vinyl offering with a psychedelic art sleeve pressed in a first edition of 300 copies.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Created by Hilton Schilder and Alex van Heerden</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Album Artwork by Hilton Schilder</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Layout by Rouleaux van der Merwe</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">℗ 2006 © 2022 RockArt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/house" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-67188003157694773182022-10-14T15:41:00.004+02:002022-11-09T14:56:15.795+02:00SF11 // MOVEMENT IN THE CITY - S-T<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSOCkBX8GNwqJKcSSkYH15mYe-oGdqwIuWlTqkVDOSrzQ583EIl_CsBk-cqA2P9JOoz1-jOLAikux3RFBGDOBFZNwUilmMjs-vElnDxbOxsa-Csf3hA0_W2ygGWYOVESmz-bJT-RTJEcBADZvM3kiPfDjay8XujmlAx7oxQfKQJ-tIFGJMX_nMeDySg/s620/movement-in-the-city-620.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQSOCkBX8GNwqJKcSSkYH15mYe-oGdqwIuWlTqkVDOSrzQ583EIl_CsBk-cqA2P9JOoz1-jOLAikux3RFBGDOBFZNwUilmMjs-vElnDxbOxsa-Csf3hA0_W2ygGWYOVESmz-bJT-RTJEcBADZvM3kiPfDjay8XujmlAx7oxQfKQJ-tIFGJMX_nMeDySg/s16000/movement-in-the-city-620.jpg" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>In the wake of a 2020 edition of Movement in the City's second album <i>Black Teardrops</i> (1981), Sharp-Flat Records returns with a prequel by way of a reissue of the band's self-titled debut from 1979.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the 1970s were drawing to a close, the epic Black Disco studio project with its signature pairing of drum machine and organ had run its course. After delivering a killer trilogy of cosmic lounge outings dating back to 1975, the group yearned for funkier grooves and the core trio of composer Pops Mohamed on organ with Basil Coetzee on tenor sax and Sipho Gumede on bass decided to hire a drummer and rebrand as Movement in the City. In contrast with the New Age detachment of Black Disco, Movement in the City was conceptually grounded in the bleak social realism depicted on its photographic album covers and leaned into the vivid sensibilities of library music from the era. Blending Cape jazz with funk and soul, the group's output evokes a soundtrack for South African city life at the outset of the 1980s while nodding allegorically to the subterranean movements that were in the course of shaking the cage for political change.</div><div><br /></div><div>With its cast of jazz fusion all-stars, <i>Movement in the City</i> is the manifesto of a band in transition - a bold and slick first offering that delivers a modern South African sound capable of both the funky exuberances of "Mister Lucky" as well as the down-home pathos of "Blue Sunday." Restored from its original tape masters and released in partnership with As-Shams Archive and Pops Mohamed, this rare artefact of South African jazz history is back in print for the very first time since its original 1979 release.</div><div><br /></div><div>Organ, Electric Piano, Piano – Pops Mohamed</div><div>Saxophones – Basil Coetzee</div><div>Bass – Sipho Gumede</div><div>Drums – Gilbert Matthews</div><div><br /></div><div>Bass on "Blue Sunday" – Peter Odendaal</div><div>Drums on "Blue Sunday" – Monty Weber</div><div><br /></div><div>All Tracks Composed by Pops Mohamed</div><div>Produced by Rashid Vally</div><div>Original Release 1979</div><div>Sharp-Flat Reissue 2022</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/mister-lucky" target="_blank">DIGITAL SINGLE</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-25595748117927732552022-08-30T16:05:00.002+02:002022-11-09T14:55:33.254+02:00SF13 // OSCILLATIONS - Away Too Long<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IOcj3j5_2l95WGxyALMvt3qxMynwN5WVH_ce1OWgyYjZ88orNbzlNz6YmOwDy_pnEEWT6Ta32FCemIwQzoAT811Qdc4v6Nw2iRlQfTMliGB9wzsZkJwdKkowL00J_ArzQ7zUJeHp_Mv3dHrcdGUluhwsNz5khPWxorth_COANzikADekBhlm2yHWqQ/s620/oscillations-away-too-long-620.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IOcj3j5_2l95WGxyALMvt3qxMynwN5WVH_ce1OWgyYjZ88orNbzlNz6YmOwDy_pnEEWT6Ta32FCemIwQzoAT811Qdc4v6Nw2iRlQfTMliGB9wzsZkJwdKkowL00J_ArzQ7zUJeHp_Mv3dHrcdGUluhwsNz5khPWxorth_COANzikADekBhlm2yHWqQ/s16000/oscillations-away-too-long-620.jpg" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Imagine yourself in northern Zambia, in the copper mining town of Kitwe, a guest in the home of Zamrock musician Victor Kunda Kasoma. The living room is dark and the silhouette of the Oscillations guitarist is etched against drawn curtains. Fingers fumble, cable jacks click and the air fills with static hum. Victor meanders through a handful of new and original compositions, presenting them vulnerable and naked on his electric guitar interspersed with casual commentary and witty asides. Some ideas are fully fledged while others are shapeshifting sketches, some guitar sounds are clean while others are bathed in mind-boggling effects, but the tone and technique is unmistakable. It's around 40 years since Victor recorded <i>I Can See It Come</i> yet his guitar fingerprint is easily detected.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Away Too Long</i> (2022) is a snapshot of a veteran guitarist who overcame polio as a young man to pursue a career in music, a glimpse into the musical heart and soul of a now older and wiser Victor Kunda Kasoma in his 60s. The works that make up this EP are solo guitar demos literally recorded in a garage adjacent to Victor's home in Kitwe in 2016. As with all demos, the intention was to seek collaboration and support to flesh out the skeletal ideas in a studio environment. While this remains a hope, we share these humble offerings as ripples in the still ocean of dreams.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Victor is both delighted and amused that his 1978 album <i>I Can See It Come</i> has developed cult status among global psych diggers. While the idea of recording another album is a thrilling prospect, he's also just getting on with living life in the present. Like so many musicians, Victor's world was turned upside down during the pandemic. He emerged in 2022 with a new calling, taking on a volunteer position at a community school in a remote village in Mpongwe in the Copperbelt Province. Just as Victor was guided into music by a beloved teacher as a young boy, he's now helping a new generation of Zambian guitarists find their little wings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Composer • Guitar • Vocals – Victor Kunda Kasoma</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded in Kitwe, Zambia in 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced and Recorded by Calum MacNaughton</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mixing and Mastering by Richard Vossgatter</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/away-too-long" target="_blank">DIGITAL EP</a></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-41596286287847944752022-03-01T15:55:00.003+02:002022-03-01T16:24:23.242+02:00KK04 // SYD KITCHEN - Across<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfVsZhm5k9p2DgifRQJkYqaOX368MWlzRhuRV3JNQG7Sc7ltjql1rRyUeRV0Gr19FCgZKci_hNTjBVKOXmD737Eti1Ou8-R-Bcy_PoiF_3oftuk3HKQzJ2uZCMFBISNCSHXgEAtrhUyKzFyWKFx9H_vjcxgecPbj7z1Eb80mjOcADouawTXdMk6un50g=s620" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfVsZhm5k9p2DgifRQJkYqaOX368MWlzRhuRV3JNQG7Sc7ltjql1rRyUeRV0Gr19FCgZKci_hNTjBVKOXmD737Eti1Ou8-R-Bcy_PoiF_3oftuk3HKQzJ2uZCMFBISNCSHXgEAtrhUyKzFyWKFx9H_vjcxgecPbj7z1Eb80mjOcADouawTXdMk6un50g=s16000" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">An atmospheric, spiritual solo guitar outing themed around the four elements. If there was ever any doubt about Syd Kitchen's mastery of the acoustic guitar, this offering certainly puts the matter to rest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Original Cat. No. NOBUD003</div><div style="text-align: justify;">© Syd Kitchen ℗ Kitchen Kulture 2007</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2022 Syd Kitchen Digital Archive Cat. No. KK04</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sydkitchen.bandcamp.com/album/across" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-63904245165431634042022-01-03T13:53:00.004+02:002022-01-03T14:04:18.540+02:00SF10 // MASHABE BAND - Mandela<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivmKs0zxMSNKa-Q5a0jWlPBam_W38lZAWur7zk5egMXEt7bH7p7zdjsKUP6Wow1Wok8Mi3ec6zwczdjrT5Gr-iXMscW5txzRSIqy1I24svXsQvtWCL1sV0grQWwDLcwsVgBY4hVf9u8mBTqMd4WOYG7AewMz_rG5m2AUwAlvjVMSull0PotjBGHeGIQw=s620" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivmKs0zxMSNKa-Q5a0jWlPBam_W38lZAWur7zk5egMXEt7bH7p7zdjsKUP6Wow1Wok8Mi3ec6zwczdjrT5Gr-iXMscW5txzRSIqy1I24svXsQvtWCL1sV0grQWwDLcwsVgBY4hVf9u8mBTqMd4WOYG7AewMz_rG5m2AUwAlvjVMSull0PotjBGHeGIQw=s16000" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite notable forays into the global sounds of rock and disco, the local heart and soul of Zambian popular music in the 20th century lies in the Kalindula sound. With it’s ceremonial tribal roots on homespun guitars, traditional double bass and percussion, Kalindula evolved into a modern, electric sound over the course of the Zamrock years in the 1970s and lived it’s golden age as Zambia’s most popular groove in the 1980s. There to document the prodigious outpouring of creativity was Zambia Music Parlour, the independent outfit that had launched the likes of WITCH, Ngozi Family and Amanaz a decade earlier. One of the label’s principal Kalindula talents was the Mashabe Band, led by songwriter James Chisenga. Deeply Afrocentric with a name that refers to mystical spirits, the Mashabe Band often performed in traditional dress with body paint. Of the band’s three albums and numerous singles issued by ZMPL, Mandela from 1987, named to honour the political prisoner who would go on to lead South Africa’s first democratic administration in 1994, is the group’s most compelling point of entry and an excellent primer for the Kalindula style as a whole. Restored from the master tape vault of the Zambia Music Parlour label, Sharp-Flat presents an essential slice of Zambian music history from a period ripe for investigation and rediscovery. Complex African rhythms with crisp electric amplification and tribal roots presentation, the Mashabe Band formula is mesmerising and infectious.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Composed by Mashabe Band</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded at dB Studios, Lusaka</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recording Engineer: Peter Musungilo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Producer: B.D. Nyati</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Director: E.G. Khuzwayo</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Original Release 1987 <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, FreeMono, monospace; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">• </span>Reissue 2022</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://zambiamusicparlour.bandcamp.com/album/mandela" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-24214921061948026622021-12-03T15:02:00.001+02:002021-12-03T15:03:46.038+02:00WIT4-5 // WITCH - The Disco Singles<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjckLGEpb5xT0o43NF3Q6wSF6KhPljHEZGa7LI72s-0uuoGkEXX9QN1P1DvlPTrH6XWZtKWli0yoaSN67hsTd6QXS6y06BK6IWBWmC2YIOYAHJl5oFgKjhp4FDKjzHLbfXAaKpzjPbSZidf5czO3lazirNw_23t-Np9nLqxorRV4xM8h5m2yCIDM8cvfQ=s620" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjckLGEpb5xT0o43NF3Q6wSF6KhPljHEZGa7LI72s-0uuoGkEXX9QN1P1DvlPTrH6XWZtKWli0yoaSN67hsTd6QXS6y06BK6IWBWmC2YIOYAHJl5oFgKjhp4FDKjzHLbfXAaKpzjPbSZidf5czO3lazirNw_23t-Np9nLqxorRV4xM8h5m2yCIDM8cvfQ=s16000" /></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">By the end of the 1970s, WITCH was a Zambian music institution. Active since 1972, they had survived the Zamrock years and left an impressive garage, psych and prog discography in their wake. But at the outset of the 1980s, the band was ready to embrace the modern sounds of a new era. Undertaking personnel changes and relocating to Zimbabwe, they were primed by the independence celebrations of their neighbouring country to undertake their mythical transformation into an African disco powerhouse.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite albums in the early 1980s. Appearing in 1980, Movin' On was preceded by the single "My Desire," which featured new member Christine Jackson on lead vocals. With an upfront funky bass-line, falsetto backing vocals, swirling synths and tight horns, it was a searing hot disco offering that made no bones about the fact that the WITCH was ready to get down. Composer/vocalist Stanford Tembo's mid-tempo burner "You Are My Sunshine" was the perfect fit for the flip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Documenting the band's drift from disco into boogie, WITCH's final album Kuomboka was released in 1983 without an accompanying single. New lead vocalist Patrick Chisembele injected youthful energy and a modern soul edge, most notably on "Erotic Delight" with its crisp drums, slinky keys and intoxicating bass groove. Pop reggae was also within the album's stylistic purview by way of the closer "Jah Let the Sunshine" as well as "Change of a Feeling," the flip side of a recently discovered single that wasn't originally released.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mastered from the original analog tapes for the very first time, SHARP-FLAT brings you the WITCH DISCO SINGLES as you've never heard them before. From Movin' On, <a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/my-desire-you-are-my-sunshine" target="_blank">WIT 4</a> presents a single edit of "My Desire" backed with "You Are My Sunshine." From the Kuomboka sessions, <a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/erotic-delight-change-of-a-feeling" target="_blank">WIT 5</a> presents a single edit of "Erotic Delight" backed with "Change of a Feeling," an unheard WITCH track released for the very first time in 2021. Joining the Rebel Disco Series in the wake of "Freedom Fighter" from early 2021, both releases are available as vinyl 7-inch singles in a regular black edition with a psychedelic African print sleeve as well as limited blue (WIT 4) and pink (WIT 5) editions of 100 copies each.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-S_pElurXs6Nq1BDo7YGlzk3XG4ub30ZfLa4flXjqGvFWcmnpdlUW7k8l-aUIImtk8wSy3cBOYaoZCg8HNSHrASWZIR5PWUn3awUn84xbBtJI7FLqiof4Z8NgTLsXCqsDmZU2zOzxj1YyUN-8vf6CILjOkuy9tRRgNV66bxnW_8UzN3t-fdJcmf72-w=s620" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-S_pElurXs6Nq1BDo7YGlzk3XG4ub30ZfLa4flXjqGvFWcmnpdlUW7k8l-aUIImtk8wSy3cBOYaoZCg8HNSHrASWZIR5PWUn3awUn84xbBtJI7FLqiof4Z8NgTLsXCqsDmZU2zOzxj1YyUN-8vf6CILjOkuy9tRRgNV66bxnW_8UzN3t-fdJcmf72-w=s16000" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-80145008816002389262021-11-20T10:54:00.013+02:002021-11-20T17:06:07.707+02:00KK03 // SYD KITCHEN & AMAKOOL - AmaKoologiK<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhz93dDwyLkAIPsF6LzvTbLJBJ2n6ntMpmq-vQkcReRzqCtEPvP12AIIiqpU8nBHbWqmwx0qqXOuJlmQTDbQxz_jNQBDfrwI-SglMYF2CLGS6LRMn5iCGBn7BWrbUTNgVqsoxAg11SoTvpG6HmE_OGelOuR_BnPS5Cm53vZmdTM_lFQzZVvg0ZwNyvUKg=s620" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhz93dDwyLkAIPsF6LzvTbLJBJ2n6ntMpmq-vQkcReRzqCtEPvP12AIIiqpU8nBHbWqmwx0qqXOuJlmQTDbQxz_jNQBDfrwI-SglMYF2CLGS6LRMn5iCGBn7BWrbUTNgVqsoxAg11SoTvpG6HmE_OGelOuR_BnPS5Cm53vZmdTM_lFQzZVvg0ZwNyvUKg=s16000" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Backed by bassist Nux Schwartz and drummer Wesley Gibbens, Syd Kitchen returned to the studio for <i>AmaKoologiK</i> (1999) after a four-year leave of absence. The personal songwriting of <i>City Child</i> (1995) had given way to a more socio-political orientation that examined South Africa's post-apartheid experience with satirical detachment. Gone were the swinging jazz rhythms that underpinned his sophomore offering as Kitchen sharpened his signature Afro-Saxon sound. Running under 30 minutes and issued as a maxi CD, <i>AmaKooligiK </i>was Kitchen's gateway to <i>Africa's Not for Sissies</i> (2001) and it's period-defining title track. As the promises of the Rainbow Nation began to collapse amidst rising crime and economic ruin, Kitchen was there to capture South Africa's millennium mood with his unique blend of painful truth and stoic humour.</p><div style="text-align: left;">All Songs Written & Arranged by Syd Kitchen</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Syd Kitchen - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Mandolin, Vocals</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wesley Gibbens - Drums, Percussion</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nux Schwartz - Bass</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Greg Leisegang - Accordion</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Karen van Pletzen - Backing Vocals</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced by Syd Kitchen & Nux Schwartz </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded at No Budget Studios in Umbilo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Engineered by Nux Schwartz</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mixed by Syd Kitchen & Nux Schwartz at Tropical Sweat Studios</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mastered by Jürgen Bräuninger at Gerald Lapierre Studios</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sydkitchen.bandcamp.com/album/amakoologik" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbPN2B1rw6RHRsD2TrzYfR5YdojMSJNAXtzVafp3U1v_kr2iaL3llkfAFTbnFiwqyljouURwPVdSD4M8axZHx7teMwVZolH8I_rGehN6FEeAfBphimJkM1f0AlusrDKk6kRx4Icot_dPYEV60B4Dvfz61Hc9SA_G_MKg6CSvoUiFu4e14zGupC3ME5ww=s620" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbPN2B1rw6RHRsD2TrzYfR5YdojMSJNAXtzVafp3U1v_kr2iaL3llkfAFTbnFiwqyljouURwPVdSD4M8axZHx7teMwVZolH8I_rGehN6FEeAfBphimJkM1f0AlusrDKk6kRx4Icot_dPYEV60B4Dvfz61Hc9SA_G_MKg6CSvoUiFu4e14zGupC3ME5ww=s16000" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Syd Kitchen & AmaKool</u> (L-R): Syd Kitchen (Back) with Greg Leisegang (Accordion), Nux Schwartz (Bass) & Wesley Gibbens (Drums).</div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-70340850666169592932021-09-30T15:00:00.001+02:002021-09-30T15:00:51.463+02:00KK02 // SYD KITCHEN - Oops!! Warts an All<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2-KEnYQMR_tBaAWLQbhNzctTmM7wPIq_W4CuaoRd4s6jKmZdI2NCDWenH8biSP_vWNEVOX9bb4JHT47WUTy7bp9d3CoJMnXl8XZnuHY5fknp7FnOXoLf58T9I9sB4ZfJzxgYDhxb4_lX/s620/syd-kitchen-oops-warts-an-all-620.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2-KEnYQMR_tBaAWLQbhNzctTmM7wPIq_W4CuaoRd4s6jKmZdI2NCDWenH8biSP_vWNEVOX9bb4JHT47WUTy7bp9d3CoJMnXl8XZnuHY5fknp7FnOXoLf58T9I9sB4ZfJzxgYDhxb4_lX/s16000/syd-kitchen-oops-warts-an-all-620.jpg" /></a></p><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">A new installment in the Syd Kitchen digital archive series, celebrating what would have been his 70th solar orbit in 2021. This cassette-only release from 3rd Ear Music documents an acoustic set at Le Plaza Hotel in Durban in 1992 with the "no effects or overdubs" aesthetic of the era's unplugged ethos. Syd visits 1970s material from the Kitchen Brothers, dips into his 1987 album <i>Waiting for the Heave</i> and debuts material that would end up on <i>AmaKoologiK</i> in 1999. Raw live energy and audience engagement abounds with an amusing epiphany about vegetarianism and impromptu guest appearances. Notable too is a bonus track featuring an early incarnation of the Aquarian Quartet with Steve Newman and Tony Cox joining Syd as the Flying Sombreros. Restored with the support of producer and engineer David Marks from his original 2-track DAT recording.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sydkitchen.bandcamp.com/album/oops-warts-an-all" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-35024909519054869382021-02-24T19:25:00.006+02:002021-08-26T11:02:11.613+02:00WIT3 // WITCH - "Freedom Fighter" / "Funky Reggae"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Vz88DmYIjutUCO-ILQbhdVdp4Evv_dzbCEivOA5a9eNCMca9f70X9MVndv5IxuZYs6-CRQ6yh_MoWfgmDSZVH2rCzOakYOoQKk6ZJu9GqFr0HvhuoZP-dlVL2ftWuVoNmHF9Q-LszCAB/s620/witch-freedom-fighter-white-620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Vz88DmYIjutUCO-ILQbhdVdp4Evv_dzbCEivOA5a9eNCMca9f70X9MVndv5IxuZYs6-CRQ6yh_MoWfgmDSZVH2rCzOakYOoQKk6ZJu9GqFr0HvhuoZP-dlVL2ftWuVoNmHF9Q-LszCAB/s16000/witch-freedom-fighter-white-620.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Many Zambian bands underwent interesting evolutionary trajectories over the course of the 1970s but nothing matches the radical leap undertaken by WITCH from the bold and progressive Afro-rock of their <i>Janet</i> album in 1977 to their fully fledged boogie outing <i>Movin' On</i> in 1980. These two incarnations of Zambia's most cherished ensemble have been comprehensively documented over the last decade and have attracted distinct legions of Zamrock and disco acolytes. Unreleased until now, the non-album single "Freedom Fighter" (with it's quirky reggae B-side) emerges as the missing link that unites the two WITCH camps, finding the group in Zimbabwe as the new nation came into being and documenting a mercurial period with their sound in the process of shapeshifting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The expanded 1980s lineup of WITCH was interested in exploring the band's potential as a vehicle for modern dance in the vein of Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang. Joining the existing core of Chris Mbewe on guitar, Gideon Mulenga on bass and Boyd Sinkala on drums were two former bandmates from the group Guys & Dolls in the form of Patrick Mwondela on keyboard and Emmanuel Makulu on guitar. Working alongside founding vocalist Jagari Chanda until his final departure was an additional lead singer named Stanford Tembo, who had cut his teeth a decade earlier fronting a group called Suzie Q. While the band was touring neighbouring Zimbabwe on the cusp of the nation's April 1980 independence celebrations, it was Tembo who introduced "Freedom Fighter" to the WITCH setlist. Resurrecting a composition he had written a couple of years earlier about the political struggle in Mozambique, Tembo recast the lyrics in English as well as Shona, Zimbabwe's most widely spoken language. The track prompted euphoric audience responses and was quickly recorded in Harare to document the historic moment.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Drums - Boyd Sinkala (Lead Vocal on "Freedom Fighter")<br />Guitar - Chris Mbewe (Lead Vocal on "Funky Reggae")<br />Bass - Gedeon Mulenga<br />Keyboard - Patrick Mwondela<br />Guitar - Emmanuel Makulu<br />Backing Vocals - Shaddick Bwalya<br /><br />Recorded in Harare, Zimbabwe<br />Produced by WITCH<br />"Freedom Fighter" Words & Music by Stanford Tembo<br />"Funky Reggae" Words & Music by Shaddick Bwalya<br /><br />Audio Restoration - Neal Birni<br />Mastering - Morten McCoy<br />Design & Layout - Ash Pederick<br />Liner Notes - Calum MacNaughton<br /><br />Original Zimbabwe Release 1980<br />2021 Reissue Produced by SHARP-FLAT with Rebel Disko</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Edition of 300 Vinyl 7" Single with Numbered Insert<br />Under License from WITCH<br />Cat. No. WIT 3</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://zamrockorg.blogspot.com/2021/03/witch-in-zimbabwe-story-of-freedom.html" target="_blank">LINER NOTES</a> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/freedom-fighter-funky-reggae" target="_blank">DIGITAL SINGLE</a> <br /></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-42741292388825322832021-02-11T13:55:00.013+02:002021-08-13T09:30:27.572+02:00KK01 // SYD KITCHEN & THE UTENSILS - Waiting for the Heave<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwV1dTGBmgcfWeB63lDcKuyoZ3C2cbIHa1QzBqwnqwNEqlti9to4iy4y1_8AdEKt2fTlygWQnEPFj80EdSnEF3Wx7A7P7ZPXz0BtSxWjtCJlO9FG_xsaKJszFxNk9-A8fMJl22eDqiVne/s620/Syd-Kitchen-Waiting-for-the-Heave.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwV1dTGBmgcfWeB63lDcKuyoZ3C2cbIHa1QzBqwnqwNEqlti9to4iy4y1_8AdEKt2fTlygWQnEPFj80EdSnEF3Wx7A7P7ZPXz0BtSxWjtCJlO9FG_xsaKJszFxNk9-A8fMJl22eDqiVne/s16000/Syd-Kitchen-Waiting-for-the-Heave.png" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Although Syd Kitchen (1951-2011) had been active as a songwriter and performer for well over a decade, most notably in a folk duo with his brother Pete as the Kitchen Brothers throughout the 1970s, the year 1987 marked the release of his ambitious and fiercely independent solo debut <i>Waiting for the Heave</i>. Backed by the Utensils, composed of Marius Botha on bass and Kevin Gibson on drums, and privately pressed for Syd's Hairy Guava Records imprint, the album was presented with a characteristic wry detachment that camouflaged its true depth. Self-produced and recorded over a period of close to a year with contributions from multiple engineers, <i>Waiting for the Heave</i> was an uncompromising and idiosyncratic take on 1980s South African folk-rock with eclectic lashings of Afro-pop, reggae and swing jazz to boot.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite its long gestation, the performances came off as tight without feeling overworked and Syd's evolving guitar wizardry is on display. Moreover, the set provides an exquisite portfolio of original songwriting and novel phrasing, at times flippant ("Perfect Condition"), occasionally cynical ("Wastelands") and often deeply personal ("Silky"). It conjures timeless allegory ("Railway Room") while speaking directly to its social and political reality ("Crossroads"), closing with a sincere invocation of peace, liberty and fraternity that would have felt hopelessly out of reach in South Africa at the time ("Dancing in the Streets of the World"). Available only on vinyl LP until now, <i>Waiting for the Heave</i> sees its first full reissue as a digital album to mark what would have been Syd Kitchen's 70th birthday on 14 February 2021.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All Songs Composed, Published & Arranged by Syd Kitchen
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<br />
Syd Kitchen - Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Percussion & Vocals
<br />
Marius Botha - Electric Bass, Harmony Vocals on "Marcus"
<br />
Kevin Gibson - Drums
<br />
Steve Robinson - Lead Guitar Solo on "Silky"
<br />
<br />
Recorded April '86 through February '87 at:
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Soundcrew Productions, Westville - Engineer: Ron Selby
<br />
Redolfi Studios, Durban North - Engineer: Bruno Redolfi
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Shifty Studios, Johannesburg - Engineer: Lloyd Ross
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<br />
Mastered at Shifty Studios by Lloyd Ross
<br />
Produced by Syd Kitchen for Ultrazulcha Promotions
<br />
Cover Picture - René Tupper
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Cover Concept - The Utensils
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Photography & Art Direction - Barry Downard
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Publicity & Continuity - Michael Cross
</p><div style="text-align: justify;">Original Cat. No. Hairy 001</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1987 Vinyl Release - Hairy Guava Records<br />2021 Digital Archive Cat. No. KK01</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Released with Support & Direction from Pete Kitchen & Sev Kitchen<br /><a href="https://sydkitchen.bandcamp.com/album/waiting-for-the-heave" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a><br /></div><div><p></p></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-58018136858435901462020-10-22T10:35:00.017+02:002021-08-08T11:41:15.246+02:00SF09 // HILTON SCHILDER - In New York<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmWM2_IdlOQIsKXislfyUYMppV1tNhsfoGBd0CrHB-LWBx9ft2PuipmUsJcICPGbO7yA1sVjLIxAN_IR5mDsPsRtsYdzMcvQ37xYp8n-IQSZNw6CEtAlAb-YDna0C7atGgt0ZPEuWYOBl/s620/Hilton+Schilder+-+In+New+York+%25282020%2529-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSmWM2_IdlOQIsKXislfyUYMppV1tNhsfoGBd0CrHB-LWBx9ft2PuipmUsJcICPGbO7yA1sVjLIxAN_IR5mDsPsRtsYdzMcvQ37xYp8n-IQSZNw6CEtAlAb-YDna0C7atGgt0ZPEuWYOBl/s16000/Hilton+Schilder+-+In+New+York+%25282020%2529-620.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">In September 2019, Cape Town pianist Hilton Schilder travelled to New York for a pair of appearances at Dizzy's Club during a long weekend of programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center focused on composers from South Africa. <i>In New York</i> (2020) documents Schilder's mystical Friday the 13th performance with Dizzy's prominent Manhattan windows looking out onto a full moon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Schilder's New York trio is comprised of South African expat Jimmy Mngwandi on double bass alongside acclaimed Bronx drummer Will Calhoun (of Living Colour renown). Appearing on vocals for part of the set is Siya Makuzeni, notably reprising a decade-old collaboration with Schilder entitled "Paint Your World."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The set opens with Schilder's signature mouth bow energy smudge under the title "Alien of Extraordinary Ability" (an amusing phrase from his visa application) and includes a solo piano arrangement of Russell Herman's avante-garde, Estudio-era composition "Aryeah and the Dwarf" from the late-1970s. Also notable is the group's energised vocal rendition of "The Art of Flying" and other fluid live manifestations of material from Schilder's <i>Rukma Vimana</i> release of 2016.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Piano <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Bow - Hilton Schilder<br /><span style="text-align: left;">Bass - Jimmy Mngwandi<br /></span>Drums - Will Calhoun<br /><span style="text-align: justify;">Vocals - Siya Makuzeni</span></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Music Composed by H. Schilder<br />Except "Aryeah and the Dwarf" by R. Herman (Arr. H. Schilder)<br /> <br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">Recorded Live at Dizzy's Club on 13 September 2019</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto">Jazz at Lincoln Center • New York, NY</span> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Concert Programming & Direction by Seton Hawkins, Georgina Javor</div><div style="text-align: left;">& Jason Olaine<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Audio Recording by Juan Carlos Andrews</div><div style="text-align: left;">Mastered by Richard Vossgatter</div><div style="text-align: left;">Produced by Calum MacNaughton</div><div style="text-align: left;">Released November 2020 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> CD</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/in-new-york" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8gZsDGrlP4" target="_blank">CONCERT VIDEO</a><br /></div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-35723807484690425862020-10-21T12:51:00.010+02:002022-11-09T14:56:27.927+02:00SF08 // MOVEMENT IN THE CITY - Black Teardrops<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMta_C1gMCp9-9EdtZX3FoKm_vT0YQCOO0aFdHPqpvud0JA2fOhmBi7LyUHsyeug6tiZV2ii93gYAlBsuljyn6tZBxxbsUw0PElIAMW5X7HScl9NYaU_TKdPNW6e1r6upsqIZbP7bFL27/s620/Black+Teardrops+-+Movement+in+the+City+%25281981%2529-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMta_C1gMCp9-9EdtZX3FoKm_vT0YQCOO0aFdHPqpvud0JA2fOhmBi7LyUHsyeug6tiZV2ii93gYAlBsuljyn6tZBxxbsUw0PElIAMW5X7HScl9NYaU_TKdPNW6e1r6upsqIZbP7bFL27/s16000/Black+Teardrops+-+Movement+in+the+City+%25281981%2529-620.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">1981 South African Soul-Funk-Jazz from the master tape vault of the <a href="https://sharp-flat.blogspot.com/p/as-shams.html">As-Shams/The Sun</a> label by the creator of the Black Disco
albums. As underground jazz fermented in the social and political powder
keg of early-80s South Africa, composer and bandleader Pops Mohamed
retired the Black Disco moniker in favour of Movement in the City. The
group's second offering under this new name yielded what has become one of the most sought-after releases from As-Shams by way of Black
Teardrops, a singular blend of down-tempo and atmospheric South African
rare groove featuring Dollar Brand saxophonist Basil "Manenberg" Coetzee
and bass wizard Sipho Gumede. Reissued in an edition of 500 vinyl LP, putting the
album back in print for the first time in 40 years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Keyboards <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">• </span>Organ <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Guitar - Pops Mohamed</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tenor Sax <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Flute - Basil "Manenberg" Coetze</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alto Sax <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Flute - Robbie Jansen</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bass - Sipho Gumede <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;">• </span>Peter Odendaal</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Drums - Roger Harry <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">• </span>Monty Weber</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded at Satbel Studio & Gallo</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Engineer: Phil Audoire</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced by Rashid Vally</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Original Release 1981 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Reissue 2020 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> First Edition of 500 Vinyl LP</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Repress Edition 2021<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/lament" target="_blank">DIGITAL SINGLE</a> </div><p></p>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-25489205060530711182020-09-07T16:44:00.016+02:002021-08-08T11:38:57.553+02:00SF07 // DEREK GRIPPER - A Year of Swimming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6k04aQlJjGz2qdLV5S73bNIXCClJm98DR5VqB3D6cKm9zEZUrsPbHa3sG7sAf-5iFXXDuf2jiGRzCVMSTGsw1-cMLcVqhFFEZdzLhdUTsXVZkB0rnFqMUl6qAqCslA1xnbv79avm3oew/s620/Derek+Gripper+-+A+Year+of+Swimming-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6k04aQlJjGz2qdLV5S73bNIXCClJm98DR5VqB3D6cKm9zEZUrsPbHa3sG7sAf-5iFXXDuf2jiGRzCVMSTGsw1-cMLcVqhFFEZdzLhdUTsXVZkB0rnFqMUl6qAqCslA1xnbv79avm3oew/s16000/Derek+Gripper+-+A+Year+of+Swimming-620.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2012, Derek Gripper dazzled solo guitar and African music enthusiasts alike with an album entitled <i>One Night on Earth: Music from the Strings of Mali</i>. The proposition was to interpret the ancient music of the 21-string <i>kora </i>from Mali on the 6-string classical guitar and the outcome was a critically acclaimed set and a watershed moment for African guitar music. With an affinity for arranging the works of distinguished Malian <i>griot </i>Toumani Diabaté, Gripper went on to release the equally lauded <i>Libraries on Fire</i> in 2016 and has performed these works internationally in addition to sharing his techniques with a growing community of players online.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With <i>A Year of Swimming</i> (2020), the South African guitarist and resident of Cape Town presents his most multidimensional collection of works in the form of a snapshot of a year of personal transformation, framed by the ritual of cold water swimming. The influence of Mali is felt via re-workings of compositions by Salif Keita and Baaba Maal but Gripper also channels the Xhosa <i>uhadi </i>(musical bow) and the <i>mbira </i>(thumb piano) of Zimbabwe as part of a trio of dedications to influential African women performers. The album is fleshed out by his own singular compositional style that marries avant garde guitar primitivism with classical grace and precision. Raw yet ornate, intense yet elegant, Gripper's sound is a force of nature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Solo Guitar by Derek Gripper</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Featuring Works by Derek Gripper, Salif Keita & Baaba Maal</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And Arrangements of Xhosa, Zimbabwe & Mali Traditionals Inspired by and Dedicated to Madosini, Chiwoniso Maraire & Fanta Sacko</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recorded by Howard Butcher at Peace of Eden</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cover Photo by Aron Halevi</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Design by Twoshoes</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Released November 2020 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">• </span>Edition of 300 Vinyl LP <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Produced for SHARP-FLAT by Calum MacNaughton</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Distributed by Strawberry Rain Music (CAN) & Painted Dog (NDL)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/ana-the-first-two-minutes" target="_blank">DIGITAL SINGLE</a><br /></div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-683900946155591932020-08-19T13:53:00.010+02:002021-08-08T11:35:13.486+02:00SF06 // FREEDOM'S CHILDREN with MALOMBO JAZZ MAKERS - Ourang-Outang<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EohHjZdR4gRU7pklf93WynFLYhmKtHqK0VbwUV7YcUaE-6l3HJGFbRS3Zc6IggxSHR7UGNtsiGLc4PTmiSXvmD0-4ntayETG8DOps6Cooj3q7907cXV1ddb9UuKinZy8eeJq1TAmjKU4/s1600/Freedom%2527s+Children+%2526+Malombo+-+Ourang-Outang+%25281971%2529-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EohHjZdR4gRU7pklf93WynFLYhmKtHqK0VbwUV7YcUaE-6l3HJGFbRS3Zc6IggxSHR7UGNtsiGLc4PTmiSXvmD0-4ntayETG8DOps6Cooj3q7907cXV1ddb9UuKinZy8eeJq1TAmjKU4/s1600/Freedom%2527s+Children+%2526+Malombo+-+Ourang-Outang+%25281971%2529-620.png" /></a></div>
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In August 1971, songwriter, producer and engineer David Marks of Third Ear Enterprises presided over a pair of concerts in Johannesburg with the inspired title of Tribal Blues. Marks had earned his chops as an itinerant engineer in North America in 1969, crewing at the legendary Woodstock Festival and John Lennon's Rock & Roll Revival in Toronto. He also brought capital to his nascent independent music label via publishing royalties from his breakout composition "Master Jack," which had been an international hit for Four Jacks and a Jill as well as Trini Lopez in 1968. Tribal Blues assembled the pre-eminent figures of South Africa's folk, rock and jazz underground for a revue of epic cross-cultural collaborations featuring the likes of Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu (who would go on to form Juluka) as well as Freedom's Children with the Malombo Jazz Makers billed as Ourang-Outang.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">On the 11th and 12th of August 1971, the recently disbanded white wizards of South Africa's psychedelic rock underground reassembled to share the stage with the black witchdoctors of the Afro-jazz avant-garde at Wits Great Hall. For South Africa, this unlikely alliance of musical druids was akin to Fela Kuti and Ginger Baker joining forces in Lagos the very same year. In the only extant photo of the performances above, Brian Davidson on vocals on stage-left is flanked by guitarists Lucky Ranku and Kenny Henson. On stage-right, songwriter Ramsay Mackay is on bass beside Abe Cindi on flute. Out of the frame, the ensemble is rounded out by Julian Bahula on percussion and Colin Pratley on drums.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBH7Rri3vsl4F1UjrhHXy1csGO7o3ble26GI2nqBJ2QkzMD7MjOM8QS3eMKsRpn72Jd4xqaU4NVRQGPY9Ey7cgmFBKnz5aqTFHjF08z9AWejGh9RPxm4TpWfHoC4C26-FBR2m0piVFlVP/s1600/FC-MJM-Tape-FULL-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBH7Rri3vsl4F1UjrhHXy1csGO7o3ble26GI2nqBJ2QkzMD7MjOM8QS3eMKsRpn72Jd4xqaU4NVRQGPY9Ey7cgmFBKnz5aqTFHjF08z9AWejGh9RPxm4TpWfHoC4C26-FBR2m0piVFlVP/s1600/FC-MJM-Tape-FULL-620.png" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Music of the Spirit was the maverick debut release from 3rd Ear in 1971 and was just the approach Julian Bahula's branch of the Malombo franchise needed to document their mercurial sound. Wearing his producer hat, David Marks compiled the LP from a variety of live events and makeshift sessions, providing a raw snapshot of the group in performance that rounded out their more polished studio offerings from the late-60s. Marks had even recorded Freedom's Children with the Malombo Jazz Makers at a rural retreat in the Valley of a Thousand Hills in KwaZulu-Natal in preparation for the Tribal Blues concerts and couldn't resist including a minute-long false start from the session as an amusing coda for Side A. The filler track wasn't listed on the centre label but was given a brief credit on the record sleeve. It was attributed to composer Ramsay Mackay and entitled "Excerpt from Ourang-Outang."</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NfG1ZaxtbiPqlsCcuqQX1zw1VuFgtAjO_6KlycDUSm-oGCY5_EVbWpkBuxfjL4GCUE5zWsObjyn5zyGzBBigQKi1wLmyS_4yMR17uPHwjfEdBjZtl5pON31R3iIJW-F56C6paocGfoQQ/s1600/FC-MJM-Tracklisting-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NfG1ZaxtbiPqlsCcuqQX1zw1VuFgtAjO_6KlycDUSm-oGCY5_EVbWpkBuxfjL4GCUE5zWsObjyn5zyGzBBigQKi1wLmyS_4yMR17uPHwjfEdBjZtl5pON31R3iIJW-F56C6paocGfoQQ/s1600/FC-MJM-Tracklisting-620.png" /></a></div>
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The Freedom's Children with Malombo Jazz Makers recordings from the Valley of a Thousand Hills were edited and distilled onto an album-length reel shaped by Ramsay Mackay's vision of creating an allegorical South African tribal musical entitled Ourang-Outang. The tape was stored in a box scrawled with annotations and accompanied by a skeletal tracklisting. In addition to the "Excerpt" track that made its way onto Music of the Spirit, the recordings provided an outline of the prospective musical, two takes of it's catchy main theme and some outstanding jamming. As fate would have it, after the Tribal Blues shows the idea was shelved and eventually abandoned. The Ourang-Outang theme took on a life of its own through the 1970s via a trail of cover versions by Joburg Hawk, Kenny Henson's Harambee, Finch & Henson, Margaret Singana and even disco divas Joy of "Paradise Road" fame. As for the original Ourang-Outang tape, it was archived for almost 50 years but not completely forgotten.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwxxSWcubRy7ycx4kYfMmuWPN879R-JDfCfPUzH7-e9FvXb-tVh__Om6SjlEpDV2o1uCKYHJOyfSo1fiZB7iWVGZ66NT5kH1K9s3MQXzTxDrFj1lOwpBicr4fm0gfDwQ2UX1XxCMQNF-l/s1600/Freedom%2527s+Children+%2526+Malombo+VINYL+PROMO-620.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEwxxSWcubRy7ycx4kYfMmuWPN879R-JDfCfPUzH7-e9FvXb-tVh__Om6SjlEpDV2o1uCKYHJOyfSo1fiZB7iWVGZ66NT5kH1K9s3MQXzTxDrFj1lOwpBicr4fm0gfDwQ2UX1XxCMQNF-l/s1600/Freedom%2527s+Children+%2526+Malombo+VINYL+PROMO-620.png" /></a></div>
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In partnership with 3rd Ear Music's Hidden Years Music Archive Project and Ramsay Mackay, SHARP-FLAT presents <i>"Ourang-Outang" in which Freedom's Children meet Malombo Jazz Makers in the Valley of a Thousand Hills.</i></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The unfinished Tribal Musical of Ramsay Mackay performed by:</div>
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Brian Davidson - Vocals</div>
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Lucky Ranku - Guitar</div>
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Kenny Henson - Guitar</div>
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Ramsay Mackay - Bass <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals</div>
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Abe Cindi - Sax <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Clarinet</div>
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Julian Bahula - Congas <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Mbira</div>
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Colin Pratley - Drums</div>
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(Personnel as credited on the Tribal Blues concert programme)</div>
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Audio Recording by David Marks for 3rd Ear Music</div>
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Tapes Transfers by Warrick Sony & Pakama Ncume</div>
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With Support from Lizabé Lambrechts for HYMAP</div>
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Audio Editing & Mastering by Richard Vossgatter & Jason Connoy</div>
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Album Artwork by Ramsay Mackay</div>
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Artwork Scans by Henry Dennis</div>
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Design Layout by Rouleaux van der Merwe</div>
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Produced for SHARP-FLAT by Calum MacNaughton</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Recorded July 1971 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Released November 2020</div>
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Edition of 300 Vinyl LP with Deluxe Tip-On Sleeve</div>
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Distributed by Strawberry Rain Music (CAN)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/ourang-outang" target="_blank">DIGITAL ALBUM</a><br /></div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-57197786989569937062019-06-22T17:48:00.008+02:002021-08-08T11:34:37.440+02:00SF05 // XOLISO - Shingwanyana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMd_k5i9G44AYVzKZhdWmrv_wBpi16-6U7QYenmMI4mXjDD6mi111AQt0DAFREhfYGBm374J8GMJWMmgwNhCzfj-l8MxRFQqQtmGLDwyYSCj1PtBzc79v4lRa1CT-17cYU8bkKBmdHqLL/s1600/SF05.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMd_k5i9G44AYVzKZhdWmrv_wBpi16-6U7QYenmMI4mXjDD6mi111AQt0DAFREhfYGBm374J8GMJWMmgwNhCzfj-l8MxRFQqQtmGLDwyYSCj1PtBzc79v4lRa1CT-17cYU8bkKBmdHqLL/s1600/SF05.jpg" /></a></div>
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Hen’s tooth Afrocentric psych outlier from 1974 via the northeast fringe of Pretoria, South Africa. Building on the influence of acclaimed avant-gardists Malombo, Xoliso pushed Mamelodi's nascent Afro-Jazz sound into the domain of Electric Tribal Rock and laced it with vocal chants, brittle fuzz, trippy flute and organ psychedelics. File between Assegai and Batsumi and in reach of the Beaters and Kabasa. Fully licensed 2019 vinyl reissue sees the album back in print for the first time in 45 years. Carefully restored from analog master tapes with beautifully reproduced original artwork. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BJm3OcB9V4jPNxuOUgbOH9SJXpY8s7zR7BGfrpfmfCy_G6jfQS5GLTVNO820MSdpRJsFPauwHAwajoJ5XXi-0DAXDrUtvqxpLtiBiY95wrXvvGecRDFqdiMVRRNgAShx_rS_j7nLjaJ8/s1600/xoliso_poster.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BJm3OcB9V4jPNxuOUgbOH9SJXpY8s7zR7BGfrpfmfCy_G6jfQS5GLTVNO820MSdpRJsFPauwHAwajoJ5XXi-0DAXDrUtvqxpLtiBiY95wrXvvGecRDFqdiMVRRNgAShx_rS_j7nLjaJ8/s1600/xoliso_poster.jpg" /></a></div>
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Composed & Performed by Xoliso (Peace Makers)</div>
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Vocals <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Percussion - Abraham Tjatja Boikanyo<br />
Flute - Alpheus Koloti <br />
Bass - Gilbert Mathopa<br />
Lead Guitar - Percy Monare<br />
Drums - Johnny Motuba<br />
Keyboard - Abel Bobby Nkambule</div>
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Produced by C.B. Matiwane</div>
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Reissue Partners: Tjatja (RIP), Alpheus & Bobby</div>
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Special Thanks: Chris Albertyn, Vusi Hlatywayo, Jason Connoy & Lee Bright<br />
Original Release 1974 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Reissue 2019 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> 500 Vinyl LP<br />
Distributed by BBE Africa (UK)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/shingwanyana-she-regrets" target="_blank">DIGITAL SINGLE</a><br /></div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-70137890850703201862019-06-19T12:05:00.007+02:002023-04-13T11:53:02.320+02:00SF04 // TATA - It's A Mess (Maxi Single)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-Rq4sKQAOalxzQfIFm7QfDs1qYb86BtroHbXthxYAfRtZnBrtkECNcwOqxfdJ0b83peDe1hT0vSXG2dgiQ9gMOlGCGlgD81HhfGsuJZQy67Ozoa41sA-xPZszbZMEw4TJSiHxgQrXYOU/s1600/SF04.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-Rq4sKQAOalxzQfIFm7QfDs1qYb86BtroHbXthxYAfRtZnBrtkECNcwOqxfdJ0b83peDe1hT0vSXG2dgiQ9gMOlGCGlgD81HhfGsuJZQy67Ozoa41sA-xPZszbZMEw4TJSiHxgQrXYOU/s1600/SF04.jpg" /></a></div>
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Behold the sizzling South African boogie sound of Tata Sibeko. A killer producer, arranger and bass wizard, Tata channelled the gloomy current affairs landscape of 1985 into this glimmering Afro-synth gem.
As South African pop embraced 1980s synth culture, maxi-singles on 12-inch vinyl became the new canvas of expression with wider grooves for fat beats and extended mixes that suited dancefloors. Former Kabasa frontman Tata Sibeko dropped “It’s A Mess” in 1985, cutting Cold War political tension with dramatic synths, a seductive bass groove and an appeal to “learn to love each other” and “save ourselves from catastrophe.”</div>
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On the flip, “Afro Breakdance” sees Tata cook up a singular, stylish Afro-global hybrid in the tradition of “Afro Funkin’” from Kabasa’s self-titled debut in 1980. Tata Sibeko (RIP) licensed and approved the restoration and reissue of this single. He passed away in 2017 and this release is dedicated to his kindness, charm and creative zeal.</div>
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Produced by Tata "TNT" Sibeko & Graham Handley<br />
Remastered by Dan Elleson</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Original Release 1985</div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-56342925529376585672019-06-19T11:29:00.006+02:002023-04-13T11:52:31.704+02:00SF03 // KABASA - Kabasa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFPYYYg1RWlpn9EazzDVFyQhu50vkJywKnUuWAHwunQ_zdROYl-aDuezFeByXhEEd4oeUs5FHj7BeBLedRbMjOg6Xo38TJtTNiQr6ZoDT52M-o_u1OJlQeEWjECiFRphrKCVYIalYVyIR/s1600/SF03.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFPYYYg1RWlpn9EazzDVFyQhu50vkJywKnUuWAHwunQ_zdROYl-aDuezFeByXhEEd4oeUs5FHj7BeBLedRbMjOg6Xo38TJtTNiQr6ZoDT52M-o_u1OJlQeEWjECiFRphrKCVYIalYVyIR/s1600/SF03.jpg" /></a></div>
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While the landscape of popular music recordings from 1970s South Africa is dominated by tightly produced nuggets of township soul and jive, there is a notable seam of Afrocentric outsiders that runs through the decade. Their roots lie in Malombo’s angular juxtaposition of guitar and percussion, an avant-garde channeling of raw African soul that announced the arrival of tribal jazz.<br />
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Taking the mantle in 1974, Xoliso expanded and electrified the Malombo sound and brought it into the domain of ethnic rock. As the decade wore on, Harari translated Xoliso’s fire into an evocative performance art with less terrestrial grit but more cosmic swing to suit the tastes of the disco era. Former Harari collaborators, Oupa Segwai and Doc Mthalane later collided with bass wizard Tata Sibeko at the start of the 80s to form the core of Kabasa.</div>
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Straddling two decades, Kabasa carved a niche at the intersection of Afro-rock and funky disco jive with a trio of outstanding releases during their brief trajectory from 1980 to 1982. Their first offering was an evocation of ancestral spirit and a call for cultural unity wrapped in the infectious veneer of boisterous bass pops, thick power chords and dreamy Roland synthesizers. The album channelled the great musical movements of the decade that preceded it and opened the door to the bubblegum era that followed.<br />
<br />Special thanks to
production partners and creative collaborators Tata Sibeko (RIP), Oupa
Segwai, Jason Connoy (Strawberry Rain Music) and Rouleaux van der Merwe
(Permanent Record).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_86DopKm8pHsPbXNdH1OLnDlxYgUi2Qq9gp9DjkkPmtnm-fdPVC1-oNldrhJJlvVQcZ3I4pF8Z5H0wnk4EaNYaFLrekIFnJUmgklRbLvLVUNL89x1PEVywp9m85JVqxErpQZReoHv0tJ_/s1600/kabasa.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_86DopKm8pHsPbXNdH1OLnDlxYgUi2Qq9gp9DjkkPmtnm-fdPVC1-oNldrhJJlvVQcZ3I4pF8Z5H0wnk4EaNYaFLrekIFnJUmgklRbLvLVUNL89x1PEVywp9m85JVqxErpQZReoHv0tJ_/s1600/kabasa.jpg" /></a></div>
Bass Guitar <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals - Tata Sibeko<br />
Lead Guitar <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals - Robert Doc Mthalane<br />
Percussion <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals - Oupa Segwai<br />
Keyboards <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals - Madoda Malothane<br />
Drums <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals - Johnny Mothuba<div><br />
Produced by Nunka Mkhalipe<br />
Engineer: Graham "Gramaphone" Handley<br />
Recorded at Satbel Studios (Johannesburg, South Africa)<br /></div><div>Original Release 1980</div>Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-88026922915288817602019-06-19T10:34:00.009+02:002021-08-08T11:32:44.296+02:00SF02 // HILTON SCHILDER - Rukma Vimana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINTo6sib2Up13k1U5XaeAWJwvTMI3B8e9G-wtyBEiy2-in2WxWlSCyyOmP8W9CkiDf9B9WGD6lHbJQhznCTSh95OXfe2Wu5RVNWPOXISBPm41bzRB8BAMSveKqG325OdptZxbBFJeVqiO/s1600/SF02.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINTo6sib2Up13k1U5XaeAWJwvTMI3B8e9G-wtyBEiy2-in2WxWlSCyyOmP8W9CkiDf9B9WGD6lHbJQhznCTSh95OXfe2Wu5RVNWPOXISBPm41bzRB8BAMSveKqG325OdptZxbBFJeVqiO/s1600/SF02.jpg" /></a></div>
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Rukma Vimana is a triangular jazz constellation from Cape Town featuring Hilton Schilder on piano, Eldred Schilder on bass and Claude Cozens on drums.</div>
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Composer <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Piano <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Bow <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Vocals <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Melodica - Hilton Schilder</div>
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Bass - Eldred Schilder<br />
Drums - Claude Cozens</div>
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Recorded by Paris Zannos at Paris Studios in March 2015</div>
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Mixed by Richard Vossgatter at Phonographic</div>
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Mastered by Dave Waugh at The Music Works</div>
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Produced by Calum MacNaughton</div>
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Released December 2016 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> CD<br /><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/rukma-vimana">DIGITAL ALBUM</a></div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-75851652307009372822019-06-19T10:20:00.006+02:002021-08-08T11:37:38.045+02:00SF01 // HILTON SCHILDER - Rebirth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgaDCZPy2s1La01WcVC-y61Kpc1lLZMaXx6bGa4XrzSAdmgg3A8vFF3zgaPslAeGs1kHh11BCQ8jxaJpr2ELw-GLsOK_Fld3Tn8t_e4mPU3dfzARrSTnmc7JCGP2J9eqh9pC92MpCfmzh/s1600/SF01.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgaDCZPy2s1La01WcVC-y61Kpc1lLZMaXx6bGa4XrzSAdmgg3A8vFF3zgaPslAeGs1kHh11BCQ8jxaJpr2ELw-GLsOK_Fld3Tn8t_e4mPU3dfzARrSTnmc7JCGP2J9eqh9pC92MpCfmzh/s1600/SF01.jpg" /></a></div>
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In 2010, Hilton Schilder won a battle against cancer but lost a kidney in the process. While in hospital, he heard what would become his signature long-form piano composition “Rebirth” during a lucid dream. Waking up bedridden and without access to an instrument, he memorised what he could recall of the piece by moving his fingers over an imaginary keyboard on the ceiling.
"Rebirth" is a spiritual masterwork by a seasoned musician at the height of his powers - a sonic journey of sweeping light and shade that is both personal and universal in the depths it traverses.</div>
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The track was issued over two sides of a vinyl 7-inch single in a picture sleeve featuring a pair of Schilder’s hallucinatory ink drawings.
"Rebirth" also appears on an eponymous solo piano album, which includes two works from an ever-growing song-cycle dedicated to Schilder's wife Tesna. "Birsigstrasse 90" was composed at the song's namesake address in Basel (Switzerland) and is dedicated to Veit Arlt and Katrin Kusmierz. "The Art of Flying" is inspired by the Rukma Vimana (a mythological flying palace described in ancient Hindu texts) and is dedicated to Jai Reddy and Hermeto Pascoal.</div>
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Composer <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Piano <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> Bow - Hilton Schilder</div>
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Recorded by Murray Anderson at Milestone Studios on 4 July 2014</div>
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Mixed & Mastered by Richard Vossgatter at Phonographic</div>
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Produced by Calum MacNaughton</div>
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Released April 2015 <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">• </span>Edition of 300 Vinyl 7" Single <span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">•</span> CD<br /><a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/album/rebirth">DIGITAL ALBUM </a></div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1054519104160526603.post-39609471279228732162019-06-19T09:15:00.002+02:002020-09-08T17:46:28.291+02:00HILTON SCHILDER // Cape Gypsy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-x5jauhZRKuvc_2X1vpceIRUDyB8g8t8eUFJ2ukFymkWfm1asM3x3hDPWy28SHSEKF72mEjHxSKJ8sIAj9L62G9r96vze-8VeUnnxZZWmy8vh0o7Umr3x_WS6D2q-nNFQr3Q6422VIM-/s1600/hilton_schilder_1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-x5jauhZRKuvc_2X1vpceIRUDyB8g8t8eUFJ2ukFymkWfm1asM3x3hDPWy28SHSEKF72mEjHxSKJ8sIAj9L62G9r96vze-8VeUnnxZZWmy8vh0o7Umr3x_WS6D2q-nNFQr3Q6422VIM-/s1600/hilton_schilder_1.jpg" /></a>
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“I’m totally into music as a composer. It’s my whole life. It’s my philosophy. It’s my religion. I started composing very young and the compositions have grown until now. Actually, it’s all just one long composition.” - Hilton Schilder</div>
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It’s the opening sequence of the 2011 Cape Town music documentary Mama Goema. A camera glides through the streets of Bridgetown and comes to rest at the home of composer Mac McKenzie. Music score in hand, McKenzie hums the opening bars of an orchestral work he has just completed. Cut to Hilton Schilder playing a guitar at his home in Ottery. “We normally play a guitar like this,” he demonstrates with a flourish of notes. “But what’s wrong with doing it like this?” He flips the guitar on its back, hammers on the neck with his fingers and a whoosh of unfamiliar sound pours from the instrument.
McKenzie (bass and vocals) and Schilder (piano and vocals) were the songwriters of the Genuines, a band that yielded three albums of some of Cape Town’s most ambitious rock and jazz in the company of drumming titan Ian Herman and electric guitar wizard Gerard O’Brien between 1986 and 1993.The dichotomy of the group’s creative core plays out in the Mama Goema documentary as we follow McKenzie’s telescopic trajectory through rock and jazz into the hallowed realm of classical. In contrast, Schilder’s narrative is that of a gypsy, bleeding into the fabric of Cape Town’s music underworld and emerging in a variety of guises as composer, collaborator, bandleader and soloist.</div>
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Hilton Schilder’s narrative is rooted in heritage. “I come from a huge family of musicians. We are one of the biggest musical families in the world and I’m the sixth or seventh generation. I started playing at the age of three. I’ve done nothing else all these years. Draw and compose, that’s what I do.” Born in 1959 to revered jazz pianist Tony Schilder (1937-2010) and nephew of Chris Schilder of 1970s jazz fusion supergroup Pacific Express, Schilder was exposed to music as a lifestyle from an early age. “As a child there were always musicians in the house. Winston Mankunku and my uncle, to name a few. Piano players, bassists and guitarists.”
Forged in the fiery cauldron of mid-80s South Africa, the Genuines provided an outlet for his distinct approach to composition. The group’s tenure with the independent Shifty Records label spawned a handful of memorable Schilder compositions that included “Narrow Escape” in 1986, a menacing account of a drunken bar scene in which a sinister voice of conscience chastises Schilder for provoking a fight with a group of bikers. “Ou Kleine Jannie” on the group’s sophomore album, Mr. Mac & The Genuines, wears a frivolous goema mask while recounting the story of an abused farm labourer moved to murderous retribution.</div>
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The Genuines then immersed themselves in the Cape Jazz sound brewed by Mountain Records in the 1990s. The instrumental “Wie is Frank?” from Nights with the Cape Gypsies was written for a friend but could easily be taken for a homage to Frank Zappa in its glorious, unpredictable, angular peculiarity. To say that Schilder ‘penned’ the moving sound-portrait “Khoisan Symphony” for saxophonist Robbie Jansen’s classic Cape Doctor album in 2000 is a misnomer as his compositions are not written. An instinctive, self-taught musician, Schilder carries his songbook around in his head. The act of creation is akin to channelling and Schilder’s muses inhabit an etheric cloud that manifests elusively. His first solo release, No Turning Back, saw him use the Khoisan mouth-bow in “Email to the Ancestors” to great effect. “I’ve got an interesting history with this instrument,” he explains. “I was playing it for about 10 years and I kept hearing this voice, a name in my ear. It took me about 5 or 6 years to find out who it was. He’s a shaman and he played the bow and I feel that I’ve got some of his spirit in me.”</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXIkaiTedmuFaV-3J1_LSgYp_fJMmN6gEos2ACsv9nkgiXoP9_eUfInFcSynGTqH0PvSjOp2eW-X60IfxCchOKjJVK5kV304-FNbLjPCUEQvDetWYwhsgnBCeUs8KK6p9i2ZueLWsUa7S/s1600/hilton_schilder_2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXIkaiTedmuFaV-3J1_LSgYp_fJMmN6gEos2ACsv9nkgiXoP9_eUfInFcSynGTqH0PvSjOp2eW-X60IfxCchOKjJVK5kV304-FNbLjPCUEQvDetWYwhsgnBCeUs8KK6p9i2ZueLWsUa7S/s1600/hilton_schilder_2.jpg" /></a></div>
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The early-2000s reunited Schilder with McKenzie in the Goema Captains, which saw the recording of the timeless document Healing Destination with a cast of Cape Town’s finest during the Wondergigs concert series in Sea Point. The ensemble featured trumpeter Alex van Heerden (1974-2009), who harboured a penchant for electronic arrangements and went on to partner with Schilder as RockArt, producing the compelling electronic release Future Cape in 2006. Shifting shape once again, 2009 saw Schilder teaming up with South African music stalwarts Errol Dyers and Steve Newman in the acoustic trio All In One to create sonic tapestries with influences as varied as rumba, tango, maskanda and goema.</div>
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In 2010, Hilton Schilder fought cancer and lost a kidney in the process. While in hospital, he heard what would become the composition “Rebirth” during a morphine-induced lucid dream. Waking up bedridden and without access to an instrument, he memorised what he could recall of the piece by moving his fingers over the mental projection of a piano keyboard on the ceiling. “Rebirth” is a spiritual masterwork by a seasoned musician at the height of his powers - a sonic journey of sweeping light and shade that is both personal and universal in the depths it traverses.</div>
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“Rebirth” has been issued over two sides of a vinyl 7-inch single in a sleeve featuring Schilder’s hallucinatory ink drawings. The composition is part of a solo-piano album that includes two works from an ever-evolving song-cycle dedicated to Schilder’s wife Tesna. “Birsigstrasse 90” was composed at the song’s namesake address in Basel, Switzerland. “The Art of Flying” is inspired by the Rukma Vimana, a mythological flying palace described in ancient Hindu texts. Hilton Schilder’s journey to optimal health shapes his present lifestyle and is spurring a new wave of creativity. He became a proud grandfather to Aiden Ryan Schilder earlier this year.</div>
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Originally Published in The Lake #007 in December 2015<br />
Written by Calum MacNaughton</div>
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Photography by Franziska Anastasia Lentes</div>
Calumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14219681248596529566noreply@blogger.com