Many who listen to
this record by Ladysmith Black Mambazo will feel a
pang of emotion as they recall the concerts given by
Paul Simon on his Graceland tour early in 1987.
During the tour Simon performed the most generous
gesture an international star has ever made for a
people ground down by iniquitous laws. Discreetly
leaving the stage in the middle of each show, he let
the ten-member choir take over. Their sweet iscathamiya singing, destined until then to soothe the
melancholy of migrant workers parked in hostels,
would suddenly fill the hall. "Homeless" is
a composition co-written by Paul Simon and Joseph
Shabalala, leader of the choir. When they met up
again in London's legendary Abbey Road studio, Simon
discovered that Black Mambazo had extended the song
with new Zulu words. It further developed during
recording, expanding to incorporate a traditional
wedding song. This exceptional cultural collaboration
has revealed the great beauty of these songs - and
their magnificent interpreters - to the entire world.
from: http://www.mediaport.net/AfricArt/100CD/CD/074.html
"Homeless"
was written by Paul Simon and Joseph Shabalala,
composer and lead singer of Ladysmith, a ten member
church group from the township of Ladysmith, near
Durban on the Indian Ocean. Their roots are Zulu, in
which language many of their songs are written. They
have at least a dozen albums, and were given national
attention on the Graceland tour and album.
from: http://www.netradio.net/earthbeat/eb7_acappella.html#24
Weitere Links zu Ladysmith Black Mambazo:
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Homepage: http://mambazo.com/
Ladysmith
Black Mambazo Biography: http://mambazo.com/bio.html
Interview
with Joseph Shabalala (1977): http://members.xoom.com/world_music/Linterview.html
Sehr guter & informativer Artikel über Joseph Shabala
& Ladysmith (1998): http://weeklywire.com/disk$ebony/tw/www/ww/02-09-98/memphis_mus.html
"Music is my Mission" -
Joseph Shabalala: http://www.africanews.org/interviews/joseph.html
Verein zur Förderung von
Begegnungen mit dem südlichen Afrika: http://www.nangu-thina.de/
Und tolle Links &
Informationen gibt es auf den Webseiten des Chorprojektes
Shosholosa
Isicathamiya or
“township jive”
"Though its
roots reach deep into African cultural history, the
specific style of a cappella music Shabalala and
Ladysmith perform, called isicathamiya or
“township jive,” dates back to the 19th
century, when South African blacks, even then
subjugated to the white minority, were forced to work
in the country’s diamond mines.
Living far from home in work camps, the miners had
only one day off a week, Sunday. So, Saturday nights
became the night to socialize and let loose. The
spirited vocal music that grew out of the
Saturday-night parties was accompanied by
choreographed dancing that was sometimes so
aggressive the wooden floors of the workers’
huts would crack under the pounding.
“When the people sang and danced to the music,
the neighbors complained to the guards at the
camp,” Shabalala says. “So the dancers
developed this style of dancing lightly on their toes
called cothoza mfana. It means
‘tiptoeing.’”
The new, powerful mix of singing and dancing soon
spread back to the townships, and groups specializing
in isicathamiya sprung up everywhere. These groups
also developed a tradition of “facing off”
in competitions which inspired community pride in
one’s local isicathamiya group."
from: http://weeklywire.com/disk$ebony/tw/www/ww/02-09-98/memphis_mus.html
Diverse
Links zum Afrika-Programm:
Mandela: http://www.anc.org.za/people/mandela.html
Geburtstagsgrüße zu Mandelas 80.
http://gopher.anc.org.za/people/mandela/birthday/eighth.html
"A nation which does not deal with its past will be haunted by it
" February 25, 1999 by Nelson Mandela: President Mandela's Address in
a special debate on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
http://www.africanews.org/specials/trc.html
Nkosi
Sikelel' iAfrika (in verschiedenen Sprach-Versionen)
MALIBONGWE CONFERENCE Amsterdam 1990: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/women/pr900118.html
Women's struggles: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/women/index.html
Repeal the pass laws
(1957): http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/women/repeal.html
Biographies of former ANC leaders and activists: http://www.anc.org.za/people/former.html
James Madhlope Phillips (ANC Nachruf): http://www.sacp.org.za/biographies/jmphillips.html
(Fast)
Alles zu Süd Afrika: http://www.southafrica.net/
Südafrikas Geschichte in Kurzform: http://www.suedafrika.net/Seiten/geschichte.html
Southafrica online: http://www.southafrica.co.za/
Musikgruppen
in Süd Afrika: http://www.mediaport.net/Music/Pays/afrique_du_sud/index.en.html
Casa Koor singt für
Mandela in Amsterdam (1999): http://www.terdege.nl/bin/990312bin14.html
http://www.niza.nl/uk/newsletter/edition21/pag2.htm
