Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Jo'Burg City Stars - Grooving Jive #1 EP (1986)

Listening to Bringing It Down, posted below, made me remember and dig for this 12" club mix of fiddle-driven mbaqanga from Noise Khanyile and the Jo'Burg City Stars. Originally released on South Africa's Shifty label in 1986, it was picked up for distribution in the UK in 1988 by GlobeStyle, at the peak of the "world music" craze. Leading off with wild fiddling, the monster Grooving Jive #1 fills the first side with stomping rhythms and the nearly incongruous mandolin and violin provided by Khanyile. At times there are echoes of Appalachia, but the groove never slackens.

The B-side is bit less rocking, but still a good vehicle for Khanyile to saw away with his township fiddle. He would go on to produce an album for GlobeStyle, The Art of Noise, in 1989. That album showcases both the traditional and jive styles that Khanyile mastered over decades of involvement in the South African music scene. It's still available as a CD reissue.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great stomping sound. Thanx!!

Anonymous said...

very good LP, is a classic in the northern coast of Colombia, thank you for your work, you can publish the back of the cover


Juan C

Rhythm Connection said...

Gracias, Juan, para visitar este sitio. La cubierta atrasada (a little rusty with my español!), esta en the folder that contained the music. You should be able to see it there!

Anonymous said...

This is fantastic! I need to find that the art of noise album. I can't get enough of this.