Flickr user “ethekwinigirl” is a writer/journalist and photoblogger in Durban, South Africa. Her photoset Street Musicians shows that kwela is still performed live in open, public spaces; maybe by the same musicians who, as youngsters, performed on the streets and heard “Kwela, kwela!” as the police vans tried to round them up! It would be… Continue reading Saturday Morning at Essenwood Flea Market
Take Cover! Zimbabwe Hits
Every now and again I find something really interesting as a result of the kwela project. It’s not always about kwela either, but in this case I’d say there’s quite a strong connection. ýlowek scavel-cronek is a blog that presents music that can’t be found in the shops any more. The first track on Take… Continue reading Take Cover! Zimbabwe Hits
Kwela on the BBC
Ten Real Audio 🙁 tracks spanning some fifty years of South African music from 50s kwela to 90s bubblegum. Presented by Andy Kershaw, the flippin’ hypocrite fades each track after only about 30s – in much the same way that Kirsty Young curtailed Andy’s Desert Island Discs – much to his annoyance! Still, there’s some… Continue reading Kwela on the BBC
Unite with the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble
It’s always interesting to hear contemporary interpretations of kwela and to learn more about those who are bringing these sounds to our ears some fifty years after kwela’s heyday. I stumbled upon Buskaid whilst undertaking some search-engine led investigation regarding a long-forgotten question, and what a fortunate turn of events this has been. Buskaid is… Continue reading Unite with the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble
Positively Testcard sign deal with Murdoch!
… by accepting the MySpace Terms and Conditions. Postively Testcard, “South-East London’s premier whistle-driven afroskankabilly instrumental beat combo” emailed me with this scintillating fact (which is, indeed, more news-worthy than today’s other headline story) today. Their follow-up email included the relevant URL too 🙂 When I looked, there were two, complete tunes for our enjoyment… Continue reading Positively Testcard sign deal with Murdoch!
kwela in Songlines May 2007
Four seconds short of the nominal 3 minute 30 second kwela format, the Solven Whistlers recording of Kwela Blues is to be found in the Gallo CD Sampler currently shipping with the May 2007 edition of Songlines magazine. “The Very Best in South African Music” contains the following tracks: Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens Lilizela… Continue reading kwela in Songlines May 2007
Hello
OK, here we go: Welcome to the blog of the kwela project at www.kwela.co.uk. Take a look at About to find out more. Nothing much else to say now – I just want to start fixing up the blog and I need an initial post to be able to see my changes 😉