South Africa is located in southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and the Indian Ocean.
In their quest for separation of the races the former apartheid regime in South Africa inadvertently laid the basis for a significant music archive. The original thinking behind the recordings made by the South African Broadcasting Corporation was to divide the black population along racial and tribal lines through the use of music. As the state controlled the airwaves the SABC became a tool for its propaganda and set up various regional stations that were known as Radio Bantu, the regime’s term for the oppressed majority.
For struggling musicians during the apartheid era the opportunities to record their music was lure enough. Record companies that serviced the black community were few and far between and the major labels, to their eternal shame, focused more on selling to the affluent white community. As a result SABC’s mobile studio visited every corner of the country recording the whole glorious range of music available creating a massive archive of original music that became The African Renaissance catalogue. This catalogue was represented by Sheer Music S.A. who licensed it to Eagle Rock for worldwide release to display its historic value and originality for most of today’s popular music rhythms across the country.
The ten double CDs contained some of Africa’s greatest music, and some of the continent’s greatest musicians.
Musical Genres
Gospel – South African gospel music is unique, with strong roots in traditional music and conveys a powerful spiritual message.
Kwela – Street music develop in the 1940s, characterized by the sound of the penywhistle. It derives from marabi and has jazz influences.
Iscathamiya – Traditional Zulu call-and-response a cappella choral music sung by men in South Africa. In the mines of South Africa, black workers would entertain themselves after a six-day week by singing songs into the night, and choreographing dance steps on “tip toe”so as not to disturb the camp security guards.
When the miners returned to the homelands, the tradition returned with them. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is the premier example of this style of music. Afrika Mamas is a groundbreaking all-female a cappella ensemble that has opened doors to women in this male-dominated genre. Iscathamiya means to ‘tread carefully’ or ‘walk softly.’
Marabi – a combination of Dixieland jazz and South African pub music developed in the 1920. The ensembles featured banjos, guitars and brass instruments.
Mbaqanga – A genre that emerged in South Africa the 1960s as a fusion combining elements of rural Zulu music and harmony vocal styles with Western instrumentation. Early stars like “groaner” Simon Mahlathini, Nkabinde and the Mahotella Queens were key in developing a colorful, danceable sound and a competitive scene began to flourish during the late 1960s with rival female groups like Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje gaining in popularity.
South African Musicians
Busi Mhlongo
Johnny Clegg
Juluka
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Lucky Dube
Madala Kunene
Mahotella Queens
Miriam Makeba
Mzwakhe Mbuli
Shikisha
Shiyani Ngcobo
Sipho MChunu
Soweto Gospel Choir
Tananas
Thandiswa
Vusi Mahlasela
