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Labella: Child of the Soil
BySelaelo's influence is constantly felt on this albumhe composed and/or arranged nearly all of the tracks and plays guitar on some of the tunes. The trademarks of a Selaelo album are a smooth, old-school Afropop/Safro jazz sound, with a tight band comprised of some top-notch musicians. Selaelo is a master of subtlety and restraint; even when the band lets loose, it's still always controlled. This influence is particularly notable on "Dancing in the Rain, "Thamsanqa, and "Inkosi Yamakhosi. On these tracks, it appears the Selaelo is grooming Labella to be the next Judith Sephuma or Sibongile Khumalo.
However, on other tracks, Labella's roots assert themselves more strongly"36 Weeks, "Apple of My Eye, and "My Dream are more reminiscent of her earlier album with their strong R&B leanings, while the vocal-acoustic guitar duet of "Africa sounds more like an india.arie album.
At times, these two styles seem to be in conflict with one another, and that is true to an extent. The album partially splits into the R&B category (the earlier part of the album), to the more Safro jazz sound (middle of the album).
However, where the album gets particularly interesting is when the two worlds sync up. "Onomathotholo, an otherwise traditional Xhosa song, gets a sonic update. Labella adds some vocal percussion noises, and the band stretches away from the groove that it had been laying down through much of the album. Labella also stretches her voice away from the warm, slightly smoky midrange she favorsadding growling and higher pitched cries a la Busi Mhlongo. The synth solo in the middle is unwelcome, but it's nevertheless nice to hear this sort of risk-taking in the music. In "Pitoria ka paesekele, Labella and band stretch even farther away from the norm, this time adding skittish wah-wah guitar and a fat, funky clavinet. The vocal chorus also features some impressive vocal acrobatics.
Ultimately these tracks are the most interesting. Here, there is a sense of risk-taking and an adventurous spirit that makes the album so notable. While the tracks leading up to these tunes are enjoyable R&B and/or Afropop piecesand Labella's voice truly is a thing of beautythe magic happens when the musicians stretch out of the well-trodden groove and into some truly new and interesting territory.
Note: this recording is available from One World on the web.
Track Listing
Africa Intro; Apple of My Eye; Dancing in the Rain; Hle!; Thamsanqa; Inkosi Yamakhosi; 36 Weeks; Sekumanxa; My Dream; Onomathotholo; Pitoria ka Paesekele; Africa.
Personnel
Labella: vocals; Selaelo Selota: guitars; Randall Skippers: piano, organ, keyboards; Rob Watson: drums; Mike Tuli Masoka: bass; Paledi Malatji: vocals; Steven Molakeng: vocals; Edith Mudau: vocals; Bongi Zwane: vocals.
Album information
Title: Child of the Soil | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: C-Lota Records