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DVD video |
Kérjen
árajánlatot! |
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| 1. | Nomathemba
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| 2. | This Is The Way We Do ("Ekuhlupekeri")
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| 3. | Long Walk To Freedom ("Halala South Africa")
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| 4. | Hello My Baby
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| 5. | Nginethemba
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| 6. | Thulanhliziyo
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| 7. | Makoti
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| 8. | Rain Rain Beautiful Rain
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| 9. | Homeless
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| 10. | Wentomb&
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| 11. | Shosholoza
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| 12. | Amazing Grace/Nearer My God To Thee
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Heads Up DVD Captures the Kinetic Energy of Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Features stellar performances and in-depth interviews
For more than three decades, the story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been just as much about physicality and choreography as it has been about brilliant vocal harmonies. For this GRAMMY-winning a cappella group that merges South African music and dance traditions with Christian messages of compassion, love and global harmony, the music alone is only half the story. Simply put, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has to be seen to be understood.
Heads Up International offers a visual glimpse of these icons of South African music and dance with a DVD, Ladysmith Black Mambazo Live (HUDV 7149), scheduled for worldwide release on January 27, 2009. Recorded in Akron, Ohio, in 2008, the set captures not only fourteen songs performed on the stage of EJ Thomas Hall at the University of Akron, but also forty minutes of in-depth interviews with founder, leader and musical director Joseph Shabalala and other members of the group.
Shabalala, a South African farmboy turned factory worker, first began gathering talented vocalists and arranging multi-layered and tightly woven harmonies in the early 1960s. After a series of records throughout the '70s and early '80s, the group rocketed to international fame in 1986 with their appearance on Paul Simon's landmark recording, Graceland.
The thematic elements in Mambazo's music that appeal to South Africans, says Shabalala, are the same elements that appeal to a universal audience in all parts of the globe. In that sense, the group has come to be recognized as South Africa's musical ambassadors to the world.
"People love our music because we have a story in this music," says Shabalala. "It's a very deep story about tradition, about taking care of yourself, about reminding people to get together and work very hard for themselves. We are treated like kings because of this music. When the police and the politicians [in South Africa] listen to this sound, they love us. They say, 'This is the African sound. Therefore, let these people go wherever they want to go and spread this music around the world.'"
Spanning more than ninety minutes, the performances within Ladysmith Black Mambazo Live are riveting - not just in their layered musicality but in their sheer kinetic energy. Beginning with their opening number, "Nomathemba," and throughout the performance, the nine-man group is almost constantly in motion - sometimes as individuals, sometimes as a unit - with simple hand gestures, giant leaps and bounds across the stage or overhead kicks that seem to defy the most basic laws of anatomical flexibility.
Other highlights include the thoughtful "Ekulupekeni" and the stirring "Long Walk To Freedom," the title track to their 2006 Heads Up recording that recognized twelve years of democracy in the Republic of South Africa. Further in, "Thulanhliziyo" features some light-hearted call-and-response with the audience, while the quiet and pensive "Rain Rain Beautiful Rain" celebrates the inherent beauty and spirituality of the natural world.
The set closes with two emotionally resonant encores: "Shosholoza" (also from Long Walk To Freedom) and a quiet, heartfelt medley of the two well known hymns, "Amazing Grace" and "Nearer My God To Thee."
The disc also includes an extensive interview with Shabalala, who takes the viewer through the history of the group, beginning with his early days in the late 1950s as a South African factory worker with musical aspirations. Interviews with other members of the band highlight the generational cross-section that makes up the group by introducing the younger members who have joined the ranks in recent years.
"Ladysmith Black Mambazo will never end," says longtime member Abednego Mazibuko, "especially because now we have a young generation that will follow us. We are very grateful for that."
Young or old, in motion or at rest, regionally popular in the '60s or world renowned in the 21st century, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has spent the past thirty-plus years committed to a message that's as simple as it is constant. "Only one thing," says Shabalala. "Only one thing. Love."
Catch Ladysmith Black Mambazo Live and tap into this basic but profound concept.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Active Decades: '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: 1974
Genre: World
Styles: African Folk, Afro-Pop, Mbube, South African Pop, Worldbeat
Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded by Joseph Shabalala in 1974. They've cut well over 30 albums since, but the group did not become well known outside of South Africa until Paul Simon asked them to perform on Graceland. Shabalala was born into a poor family that lived on a white man's farm near the town of Ladysmith. There were eight children in the Shabalala family, and, as the oldest boy, it was Joseph's duty to take care of the family after his father died.
Shabalala's first musical experience, save for a bit of fooling around on the guitar, came with a choral group called the Blacks. Shabalala eventually took over leadership of the group and became its main composer. The Blacks won most of the local vocal competitions and became the most popular Zulu vocal group, but Shabalala felt that something was missing. "I had been hearing a voice inside me," Shabalala said. "I didn't know it, but it was the voice of God." When the voice told him to fast, Shabalala obeyed, and on his fast, he had a vision of a new kind of vocal music. Shortly thereafter he became a Christian. Taking the choral music he heard in the Christian church, he combined it with the Zulu tradition to create his own style.
When the Blacks refused to take part in Shabalala's experiments, he formed Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The group consists of seven bass voices, an alto, a tenor, and Shabalala singing lead. The combo immediately began releasing albums at a staggering rate, offering a massive catalog of vocal music. Even if you don't speak Zulu, when they hit a low rumbling note, you can literally feel the power of their voices in your body.
"In Zulu singing there are three major sounds," Shabalala explains. "A high keening ululation; a grunting, puffing sound that we make when we stomp our feet; and a certain way of singing melody. Before Black Mambazo you didn't hear these three sounds in the same songs. So it is new to combine them, although it is still done in a traditional style. We are just asking God to allow us to polish it, to help keep our voices in order so we can praise Him and uplift the people."
The group has had an extremely prolific recording career, having released over 50 albums and collections, beginning with their debut, Amabutho, on Gallo Records in 1973. In 1988 Ladymith signed with Warner Bros. and issued a pair of albums, Journey of Dreams in 1988 and Two Worlds One Heart in 1990. A couple of best-of samplers appeared on Shanachie in 1992. The group switched back to Gallo for a series of 1990s releases, then moved to Wrasse for several albums, including 2000's In Harmony. No Boundaries, which featured the English Chamber Orchestra, appeared on Headsup Records in 2005, followed by a second album from the label, Long Walk to Freedom, in 2006. In 2007 Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu was issued in South Africa with an American edition following in 2008.
---j. poet, All Music Guide |
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