Dienstag, 18. August 2020

VA - Rhythm of Resistance - Music of Black South Africa

This is the excellent soundtrack to the 1970s documentary of the same name about South African music. An excellent introduction to S/A Music. Ladysmith Black Mambazo contributes two really nice tunes (their second selection is a real toe-tapper) acapella. There is a lovely instrumental featuring just guitars and congas and an equally sweet gospel song. But the highlights are the live selections from the S/A counterpart to the Apollo Theater from the documentary. The tune that features the Mahotella Queens will get you hooked even if you don't have a clue of what's being said. You feel it, though.

Editorial film review:

"Rhythm of Resistance crosses the forbidden boundaries of apartheid and looks at the sorrow and joy of Black South African music. Music that had been ignored, censored or suppressed comes alive in unforgettable moments, often filmed clandestinely. From Zululand roots to Soweto street singing, from the defiant dancing of workers on their day off to all night singing contests, Rhythm of Resistance captures the panorama of Black South African music during the years of apartheid. Features performances and intimate moments with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Philip Tabane and Malombo, the Mahotella Queens, Abafana and more."

Tracklist:
A1Babsy MlangeniU Mama Uyajabula3:18
A2Babsy MlangeniKe Ya Le Leboha3:12
A3MalombaPerefere4:10
A4MalombaPampa Madiba5:23
A5Mparanyana & Cannibals, The       Jesu Otsohile3:25
B1Ladysmith Black MambazoUmthombowase Golgota3:29
B2Ladysmith Black MambazoYinhleleni4:32
B3Johnny & SiphoInkunzi Ayi Hlabi Ngokusima3:25
B4Mahotella QueensIgula Lamasi2:37
B5Abafana BaseqhudeniUbu Gowele4:20


VA - Rhythm of Resistance - Music of Black South Africa
(320 kbps, cover art included)

           

11 Kommentare:

dogon ad hat gesagt…

This is an astonishing document. Listen to this music and then track down the film. Incredible!

Unknown hat gesagt…

Thanks for posting the soundtrack. This is where my interest in African music started when I first watched the documentary on UK TV (1979 I think?). It opened up our ears and conscences. Rock Against Racism, The Clash playing Finsbury Park. Fantastic times.

Anonym hat gesagt…

Johnny and Sipho are Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchuno (aka Juluka). If you are not familiar with Johnny Clegg, check out 'Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World'.

zero hat gesagt…

Thanks a lot for your interesting comments. Great to learn about history by listening to wonderful music!

Feilimid O'Broin hat gesagt…

Thank you for this and the most recent posts, including The Mahotella Queens. I have always enjoyed their music, especially the music that they recorded with Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde. Their syncopated and response harmonies in "response" to Mahlatini's "call" in that unique and powerful voice have always thrilled me.

I began listening to South African music in the late 1970s. Other than recordings by Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Hugh Masakela, South African records were difficult to find in record stores in this country at that time. I ordered this album, Rhythm Of Resistance, without first hearing it, by mail from Shanachie shortly after its release. It remains one of my favorite albums and, like Anonymous, I subsequently learned that Johnny Clegg was one half of Johnny and Sipho. I was surprised. As much as I liked the exuberance and joy expressed in Johnny Clegg's subsequent work with Savuka, I will never forget his haunting vocal in "Inkunzi Ayi Hlabi Ngokusima." (Clegg was actually born in England but his mother was from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). After she married a South African journalist, she and Clegg moved to South Africa when he was seven.)

While lecturing in Anthropology at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, Clegg began his career in music by working on the concept of blending English lyrics and Western melodies with Zulu musical structures. Given the apartheid era in which he began performing, his formation of Juluka (Zulu for "Sweat") with his song-writing and performance partner Sipho Mchunu was unusual and controversial. Their music was subjected to censorship by and internal restrictions on the government-owned radio. They could only establish an audience through performing live. Consequently, they often ran afoul of South Africa's Group Areas Act which enforced apartheid. Under apartheid, mixed race performances in public venues and spaces were illegal. Jaluku would deliberately test the boundaries of apartheid by playing at universities, church halls, migrant labor hostels, and private homes. I’ve elaborated on Clegg’s and Mchunu’s partnership because it was a revolutionary act in defiance of the apartheid policies established in 1948 and in effect until the early 1990s.


Feilimid O'Broin hat gesagt…

When Jillem's last blog was ended by the Google censors, I wondered who would fill the gap created by the silencing of a blog which reflected his eclectic, occasionally esoteric, and expansive taste. The variety of posts you have offered since that blog's demise more than compensate. Because you don't post the volume of music he did, I now have time to listen to it all as it is posted. Fortunately Jillem now posts on Exystence and Twilight Zone, but as a guest poster, he appropriately adjusts his selections to those blogs’ audiences' interests. I love the German, Yiddish, Sephardic, folk, classical, jazz, and European music, such as Farantouri that you post and the political perspective inherent in much of the music. But I also now look to you for African music and music from the African Diaspora, such as reggae. Your blog is truly unique and, each time that I visit it, I feel like I am being permitted to enter a record store with an unlimited budget. Invariably I end up buying more of the music of the artists, such as Tom Liwa, Marianne Faithfull, Lin Jaldati, and Nina Simone, whose music and lyrics I find really enjoyable, powerfully moving, or interesting. I also love the music of Brecht and Weill and your posts of the artists who perform it. Brecht has always been one of my favorite dramatists and I enjoy his poetry as well.

Although I download every post, I try to limit my comments to what really impresses or moves me because, as you undoubtedly know, I tend to be long-winded and don't want to burden your blog with tendentious and frequent comments. But I am always listening and always grateful for the work and time expended in what you do. Lastly, I enjoy the comments in English and German by folks such as Otto and Anonymous; I benefit from their knowledge, insight, and different perspectives. In brief, I have never been disappointed visiting here and know I never will be.

zero hat gesagt…

Thanks a lot. Your comments are always uplifting and very welcome! Best wishes!

ad hat gesagt…

Hi..any chance you could please reupload this in 2020? thanks in advance

zero hat gesagt…

Now there´s a fresh link... and it is still 2020! Best wishes!

ad hat gesagt…

Thankss Zero! Good luck!

zero hat gesagt…

Same to you!

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