Introducing Shiyani Ngcobo and Vakoka

This year marks the birth of its Introducing imprint, dedicated to bringing public attention to artists and groups from (so far) South Africa, Madagascar, and Europe. The first two African releases from the Introducing series are the subject of this article.

Shiyani Ngcobo
Introducing Shiyani Ngcobo
World Music Network
2004

One of the most dramatic products of the colonial experience in South Africa was the massive relocation and cultural transplantation of Zulu migrant workers from rural areas to cities. It spawned a style of music called maskanda, derived from the Afrikaans word musikant, which means "musician." Maskanda is characterized by izihlabo, a short, emphatic instrumental introductory segment; and izibongo, rapid-fire Zulu praise poetry sprinkled within. Other rhythmic features distinguish regional styles, which are matched with specific dances. Maskanda has evolved over the ensuing years from a largely guitar-based form to include a variety of instruments in varying contexts, driven in part by market forces to provide consumers in South Africa with user-friendly capsules of Zulu culture.

And that's one reason that Introducing Shiyani Ngcobo is so special: it's roots music, performed by the artist singing with his guitar in an intimate setting. Up to four additional musicians round out the sound with vocal harmonies, bass, violin, and concertina. It's a potent reminder that maskanda is folk music (by the people, for the people) with very organic roots. Mellow for the most part, understated to be sure, but not without depth. Ngcobo has been making this sort of music for decades.

Quality folk music—like this—is a combination of art and craft. As producer Ben Mandelson perceptively notes in the liner notes, Ngcobo definitely has a sense of "elastic precision." If you listen closely, he's got a very exact internal clock behind his fingerpicking style, though he chooses to vary the timing of how he realizes its counterpoint. It all evolves in support of his often naked singing voice, which the additional singers complement on key phrases in almost church-like vocal harmonies or respond to in call-and-response fashion. The minimalist Zulu lyrics focus on topics like sickness and healing, love and fidelity, polygamy and AIDS, violence and corruption... and often they're phrased in terms of questions, rather than blunt answers.

Altogether this is a spiritually rich, compelling experience that rewards on many levels. It doesn't hurt that the acoustics are sweet—you can hear birds in the background at the start of "Izinyembezi" ("The Tears"), for example. Deceptively simple, authentic all the way.

This recording is available in South Africa through a license with Sheer Sound . Sound samples and more background, including translations of the lyrics, are available at World Music Network online.

Vakoka
Introducing Vakoka
World Music Network
2004

The second release in the Introducing series travels to Madagascar, nestled off the southeastern coast of Africa. Like many islands, Madagascar has developed a very distinctive culture. (It's also home for all sorts of animals—not just lemurs, though the media loves those—that you won't find anywhere else.) While its immediate proximity to Africa means that certain cultural features reflect activity on the mainland, world travelers have planted seeds from East as well as West.

The project known as Vakoka ("tradition" in Malagasy) has a rather long and involved story, related in detail in the liner notes. Canadian producer Sean Whittaker, who had no experience with production before this project, traveled there and went in search of traditional (folk) music, only to find himself frustrated by the fact that it wasn't to be found in the usual places (performance venues or on record). So he went about making it happen, and this is the result.

Whittaker recruited woodwind player Seta Ramaroson and Hanitrarivo ("Hanitra") Rasoanaivo, the leader of Tarika , Madagascar's most famous musical export. They put together an expanded cast of thirteen musicians, and over the course of six weeks of rehearsal and recording assembled the twelve tracks that appear here. Adding to the complexity is the fact that there are seven different composers representing many different styles, sometimes mixed together. The bottom line is that while the same basic group is responsible for the overall event, each individual track has a very distinct character.

The sly, dramatic highland guitar on "Faly Sy Ravo" is accompanied by percussion and an unobtrusive overdub of market sounds. It feels romantic and seductive, combining the familiar and the exotic. Guitar and voices (and some sort of flute-like instrument) appear on the next track, trading choruses and interweaving counterpoint over a rich bed of drums and shakers. The shifting, melismatic male vocal lead of "Manigne" ("Nostalgia") is accompanied by a violin-like instrument, with guitar, baritone, and soprano sax making brief appearances along the way. (Seta's saxophone playing is soft and lyrical, and it would have been good to hear more.)

Unless you already know the details about the regional styles of Malagasy music, you're often left to guess about the relationships hinted at in wisps and threads in the music presented here. At times these meticulously assembled pieces suffer from a certain degree of constriction (as if over-composed to pack as much into as brief a time as possible), but that's a relatively minor price to pay for such a diverse, warm collection of vignettes.

Note: the liner notes for this record are printed in a tiny, totally unintelligible yellow- on-white font, but you can find the complete notes online at the Vakoka web site (along with a full multimedia suite of other stuff, including sound samples), and the World Music Network site has more background on the story and the music.

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