Cover
LINER NOTESQ&A with Artist What can people expect from this album? I think the album is a representation of my journey, throughout the album there are interludes where I play the Bach cello suites, which are so famous in the world of Western classical music. But between these interludes are my own compositions, which are deeply invested in Africa, even as I use the cello, and sometimes the Nguni music bows. The struggle between these worlds, which on the surface seem irreconcilable, is what I have tried to bring forth in the album. How was the journey of putting the album together? I felt very vulnerable at times, in the putting together of the album. Even though I studied music up to university-level, what you discover out there in the commercial world of music production is totally different from anything you have been taught, and very often the tricks of the trade are only learnt through experience. So I am happy that I learnt a lot about the technical aspects of production: recording, mixing, mastering, etc. What was the recording experience like for you? The experience has been very rewarding as it allowed me to delve into the stories that have made me who I am today. At times it felt awkward, as I had to get very personal about my own life in order to express musical sincerity. One of the challenges I faced towards the end, was that I had covered the various kinds of love, the love of God, the love of self and I needed to have one last track which covers eros love, which is intimate love, romantic love between two people. That is how one of my favorite songs in the project titled, "Kulungile Sthandwa Sami", emerged. In your work, what is it that you want South Africans to know about themselves? I think as the South African story starts to draw more attention from China and other parts of the global world; there is an urge to redefine that story, away from the colonial master relationship that once determined how we relate to the world. I believe this shift is reflected in the way we do music. A few months ago I had the opportunity of collaborating in a live performance with famous visual artist from China, Dachan. This was held at the Zeitz MOCAA museum in Cape Town. I sang in Zulu, while he drew calligraphy in Mandarin. Through this kind of interaction, I felt a sense of this kind of opening to redefine our story. Where do you locate your music, in terms of genre, style? Are you a performer or a composer? When you travel all over the world, you notice that although there are many of us who were trained as classical musicians, in the conservatories and universities, however many of us have started to deviate from the conventions of what we have been taught. As we start to experiment with new ways of playing our instruments, and producing sounds we then have to take on all the labels simultaneously, of being composers and performers of the music we create . I think that is where I fit, and it gives me a great pleasure when I am able to collaborate with other cellists across the world who do things like me. I had that very opportunity recently in my travels in different parts of the USA. In my own work, I like to integrate the epic genre of storytelling, often related to great moments in history, and then using certain instrumental and vocal effects in conveying the meaning. The result is like a sound-travel series. What inspires your sound and style? I am inspired by my context, with Africa as my locale; but I am also aware of this Africa as transformative and global in its orientation. I think this comes out through the sounds I choose to use in the album; they draw from my studies in Swedish folk music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. So in as much as the album claims to be African, the influences are from diverse parts of the globe. Where are you going with your music? Where do you see yourself in 20 years' time? I see myself as a bridge between different traditions of performance; and in 10 years I hope to widen opportunities for such collaboration and cooperation across wider territories. I think for me this has to do with better inter-connection between artists in Africa and elsewhere on the globe. I also see enveloped in that move an emphasis on experimental pedagogical approaches; which entails educating the next generation, while promoting the idea of life-long learning. For as an artist one must always re-learn again and again, in order to continue to reinvent and develop creatively. What should people expect when they come to your live shows? I think when people come to my shows I want them to be entertained, while also learning something. It’s entertainment with a thesis. 01. Hamba uyathela: literally meaning go and pour in Zulu. Played on baroque cello and voice. 02. Ndemka: which is a well-known Xhosa folk song. Played on uhadi and voice. 03. Ngena: played on folk bowed string and voice. 04. Interlude 1: Prelude from JS Bach Cello Suite no. 2 in D min, played on baroque cello. 05. Kulungile Sthandwa Sam: which can mean "it is well with us, my love.” Played on baroque cello and voice. 06. Thatha lmpahla: Played on uhadi and voice. 07. Tribute Ntsikana: This is a tribute to the Prophet Ntsikana, who in the Eastern Cape (South Africa) started to preach a message of Christian conversion around the late 1700s, after being struck by a bolt of lightning. 08. Interlude 2: Prelude from JS Bach Cello Suite no. 1 in G maj, played on baroque cello. 09. Vala Amehlo: This one is really a motivation to rise up against a difficult situation. Played on baroque cello and voice. 10. Kuyaqhutshekwa: reveals the conflict between loss and hope. Solo voice. 11. Ndzatsho: This is an ensemble of thirteen different vocal parts, each recorded separately. 12. Ngeke Balunge_lthuba_Kudala: A three part composition played on baroque cello and voice. 13. Nxembula: A song composed by the late master of uhadi Nofinishi Dywili (1928-2002). 14. Lizalise: A hymn composed by Tiyo Soga, who was the first African to be ordained a minister in South Africa, in the 19th century. 15. Pipe-ology: This track is played on a special seaweed horn found on the west coast of South Africa, other instruments include drum-kit steel brushes, and baroque cello. thokozanimhlambi.com Label: Mountain Records (2019) Recording Engineer: Marius Botha (except track 14: Sean Do Guru) Mixing Engineer: Duane Sin (except track 14: Jurgen van Wechmar) Mastering Engineer: Tim Lengfeld |
THOKOZANI MHLAMBI
|
|
TRACK LISTING
|
|
ARTISTS
| |
NOTES“Lizalis' idinga lakho” (Fufill thy promise) is an iconic hymn composed by evangelist, translator, teacher and pioneering intellectual, Tiyo Soga, the first Black South African to be ordained in 1856 in the United Presbyterian Church. Composed in 1857, the song became hugely popular and, notably, was sang at the opening of the SAANC’s inaugural conference in Bloemfontein in January 1912. Dr. Thokozani Mhlambi performs the song with grace. I first met Mhlambi in Durban last year where he kindly gave me a copy of his new CD, Zulu Song Cycle. Mhlambi takes an experimental approach to Western classical music intersecting it with Zulu and Xhosa traditions. The album is impeccably recorded, with multi-tracking employed on a number of songs where he performs layers of instrumentation and vocals. His principle vehicle is the cello, but integrated throughout the album are traditional instruments such as the string bow, uhadi and seaweed horn. From an interview in the CD’s liner notes he describes the album in this way: I think the album is a representation of my journey, throughout the album there are interludes where I play the Bach cello suites, which are so famous in the world of Western classical music. But between these interludes are my own compositions, which are deeply invested in Africa, even as I use the cello, and sometimes the Nguni music bows. The struggle between these worlds, which on the surface seem irreconcilable, is what I have tried to bring forth in the album. (Mhlambi, from the CD liner notes) In 2019 Mhlambi embarked on the Early African Intellectuals as Composers of Music project to document and create awareness around historical composers from South Africa like Soga, Enoch Sontonga, John Langalibalele Dube, Nokutela Dube, Reuben Caluza and others. [This] Project is an initiative that will honour, celebrate and revive the musical craft and intellectual property of Africans from yesteryear. It is a historical undertaking that seeks to ‘wake up’ the African to his/her ancient music composition and intellectual excellence; as well as raise awareness of and educate about the birth and journey that has been traveled by compositions of the past while finding a place for them to be recognized and enjoyed in the current African renaissance. Africans and South Africans in particular will learn about, celebrate and enjoy the revived sounds of Ntsikana, Enoch Sontoga, Tiyo Soga to name a few. Some legendary craft has come from such composers/intellectuals and the Early African Intellectuals as Composers of Music project will revive and position them in a manner that educate and inspire audiences. This legacy project will inspire future generations and aspirant composers. It is poised to disrupt the arts industry. It is an ‘arts intellectual revolution.’ (African Intellectuals as Composers of Music, Facebook) Recently Mhlambi published a critical examination of Hugh Tracey and his colonial approaches to the archive in the recent edition of Herri. Zulu Song Cycle is available at Amazon. |
|