Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
★★★★☆ "A thrilling set... full of funky bass, upbeat syncopations and sparkly guitar lines. They will always be the quintessential sound of Soweto" - Songlines, May 2023
• "Thumping and soaring" - Robert Christgau, May 2023
• "Fiery grooves, tight interplay, and strong stage presence... the party atmosphere never lets up. An essential mbaqanga release, thankfully preserved" - Bandcamp's Album of the Day, 11 April 2023
• Never-before-heard live tracks from the greatest ever township
jive gigs!
• 16 newly discovered and previously unreleased tracks from Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens' historic "Indestructible Beat of Soweto" tour - their very first concerts in the UK
• Includes rare performances of the group's most-loved hits, including "Lilizela Mlilizeli", "Awuthule Kancane", "Thokozile", "Melodi Ya Lla", "Kazet" and many more
• Digital download comes with four exclusive Bandcamp-only bonus tracks, including a private soundcheck from Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, plus full album notes in PDF format...more
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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Deluxe double vinyl enclosed in 350gsm full colour gatefold sleeve. Includes all 16 tracks plus free Bandcamp download code. Inner gatefold features previously unreleased stage photography, historical notes and full personnel. Pressing by the experts at Mobineko. One-time run of 300 copies only!
Includes unlimited streaming of Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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edition of 300
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Glass-mastered CD in 4-panel digipak. Includes 15 tracks and 8-page booklet with previously unreleased stage photography, historical notes and full personnel
Includes unlimited streaming of Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
A series of pivotal music projects during the early 1980s led to an explosion of authentic South African sounds sweeping the Western world. Among those projects were collaborative albums such as Malcolm McLaren’s “Duck Rock” (1983), Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s “Zulu Rock” (1984) and Paul Simon’s “Graceland” (1986); and reissues and compilations of essential African recordings on the UK-based Earthworks Records label, headed up by white South African expatriates Jumbo Vanrenan and Trevor Herman. The common denominator linking these releases was the genre that Earthworks famously referred to as “The Indestructible Beat of Soweto” – mbaqanga music. It was therefore inevitable that the foremost exponents of that genre, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, would achieve international stardom before the decade ended. Their international ‘discovery’ was actually the latest chapter in a collective career that had already spanned some 30 years.
In June 1988, Mahlathini and the Queens made their first visit to the United Kingdom. Hoping to ride the crest of a wave, concert promoters conceived a package show named after the seminal 1985 Earthworks compilation, “The Indestructible Beat of Soweto”. This would give British audiences a revealing insight into African music as never before – in addition to the headline performers were Philip Tabane and Malombo, Nothembi Mkhwebane and her backing chorus The Siblings, Sipho Mchunu, accordion player Mzwandile David and acrobatic dancer Lucas ‘Rubber Boy’ Kau. The rapturous reception led to an invitation back to the UK in November for further Indestructible Beat concerts. It was off the back of these shows that Mahlathini and the Queens – the undoubtable standouts of Indestructible Beat – undertook their first standalone tour of the UK in early 1989.
Their stage act rarely dipped below excellent. Dressed in their original attire as young Zulu girls – but with red izicholo on their heads to signify they were now grown women – Nobesuthu Shawe, Hilda Tloubatla and Mildred Mangxola would fly onto the stage to the strains of “Awuthule Kancane” (Be a bit quieter), heralding the start of a very special evening of music and dance. The formidable Mahlathini, billed as “The Lion of Soweto”, emerged from the stage wings with both arms raised in the air for the start of the next number, “Re Ya Dumedisa” (We greet you all). The humble and soft-spoken performer always lived up to the expectations set by his billing – his roaring introduction to “Lilizela Mlilizeli” (Ululate/applaud) audible proof of the more extroverted alter ego he metamorphosed into on stage. Numbers like “Uyavutha Umlilo” (Music inferno), “Jive Makgona”, “Thokozile” (a girl’s name) and “Melodi Ya Lla” (There‘s a sound ringing out) were used primarily as vehicles for the Queens’ trademark mgqashiyo choreography, punctuated with whistles, hand claps and chants of “yebo!” (“yes!”) and “thatha!” (“take it!”). Mahlathini prowled around the stage imitating the ladies or simply stood aside, clapping and allowing them to take the spotlight. “Duduzile” (a girl’s name), however, was where the great groaner came alive, contorting, convulsing and leaping through an exaggerated Zulu dance routine. Then in “Nina Majuba” (Fly away, you doves) and “Sengikhala Ngiyabaleka” (I‘m crying and running away), the foursome competed in a magnificent display of showstopping, uninhibited jive, bringing the show to a close and the audience clamouring for an encore.
The Indestructible Beat of Soweto shows have long since passed into gig legend. None of those landmark concerts were ever made commercially available. Now, some 30 years later, Umsakazo Records proudly presents Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens’ entire Indestructible Beat set of 16 songs, handpicked from a number of different UK venues and all remastered from newly discovered cassette recordings. These were made at the mixing desk by David Barton, a photographer and music fanatic who travelled with the performers as they descended on unsuspecting audiences across the UK. “Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89” shines the spotlight once more on a truly joyous and frenetic concert experience, one that without question established Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens as forever one of South Africa’s greatest musical exports.
credits
released April 3, 2023
Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens:
Simon ‘Mahlathini’ Nkabinde - groaner
Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Shawe and Mildred Mangxola - vocals
Makgona Tsohle Band:
West Nkosi - alto saxophone
Marks Mankwane - lead guitar
Sipho Madondo - rhythm guitar
Joseph Makwela - bass guitar
Philemon Hamole - drums
Mzwandile David - accordion and keyboards
Composers:
Rupert Bopape/Marks Mankwane (2, 3, 5, 7, 13)
Simon Nkabinde (4, 6, 10)
West Nkosi (8, 9)
Obed Ngobeni/West Nkosi (12)
Rupert Bopape/Shadrack Piliso (11)
Nobesuthu Shawe/Marks Mankwane (1)
Julia Yende (15)
Hilda Tloubatla (16)
All songs licensed from Gallo Record Company
All tracks published by Gallo Music Publishers
Compilation production: David Barton and Nick Lotay
Liner notes and design: Nick Lotay
All tracks recorded live by David Barton except track 4: recorded live by Trevor Herman
Digitally remastered in the UK at Umsakazo Records
Mastered for vinyl in the USA at Black Belt Mastering
Front and back cover photographs: Adrian Boot
All other stage photographs: David Barton
Special thanks to Rob Cowling and Trevor Herman
Welcoming back the joyous sound of South Africa's townships. UK-based record label celebrating the heritage of vintage African jive through reissues, new beats and compilations of out-of-print music
supported by 29 fans who also own “Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89”
Hey you there, do you love Jeffrey Lewis? Do you love Peter Stampfel? Are you intrigued by the notion of music that has spent so many years secretly soaking in laughter and joy that it is now downright psychedelic to look upon? Both Ways is the culmination of a decade's friendship and mutual inspiration, a behemoth of a double album, spectacular, unique. It is a signpost for drifting souls. Listen, laugh, wonder, delight, be made new. And play Orgone Accumulator fucking LOUD. Grain Sparrow
supported by 28 fans who also own “Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89”
I have appreciated your music for over a decade. Even the misses are still base hits. Between collaring with Edan (looooooong time fav), Quelle, and Deca, I never know what to expect but I know it’ll always be a joy to listen to. Thank you for giving us as much music as you can. tavis206
