Songs by South African artists on the UK and USA Top 100 singles charts

With Tyla’s ‘Water’ making it into the US charts, going viral on social media, and being awarded a Grammy, there has been some discussion in the media about previous songs by SA artists making the US charts. There haven’t been many, and there have been a few more that have made the UK charts. We decided to research the US Billboard and UK top 100 charts and put together a mixtape of songs which have charted in either country. They appear in the chronological order in which they charted. The list below indicates the peak position of each song, and the date on which it reached that position.

Interestingly there are no songs which appeared on both the USA and UK charts. In fact there isn’t even a single South African artist who has charted in both charts. One song charted twice on the UK top 100: ‘Scatterlings Of Africa’ – first the Juluka version, and four years later the Savuka version.

The mixtape selection is restricted to South African musicians and groups who are regarded as wholly South African (for example, this does not include songs by Manfred Mann who only began his musical career once he had emigrated to the UK, Yes when Trevor Rabin was a member, or Freshlyground doing a collaborative song with Shakira, and so on). Collaborations of those sorts can be a focus for a future mixtape!

Some of these are probably very familiar to you, and others you might have hardly ever heard at all. Give them a listen and enjoy!

  1. Pata PataMiriam Makeba no 12 on 25 November 1967 (USA)
  2. Up Up And AwayHugh Masekela No 71 on 13 and 20 January 1968 (USA)
  3. Master Jack – Four Jacks And A Jill No 18 on 8 June 1968 (USA)
  4. Grazing In The GrassHugh Masekela No 1 on 20 July 1968 (USA)
  5. Puffin On Down The TrackHugh Masekela no 71 on 19 October 1968 (USA)
  6. RiotHugh Masekela No 55 on 8 and 15 February 1969 (USA)
  7. He’s Gonna Step On You AgainJohn Kongos No 4 on 22 May 1971 (UK)
  8. Tokoloshe ManJohn Kongos No 4 on 20 November 1971 (UK)
  9. SubstituteClout No 2 17 June 1978 (UK)
  10. Scatterlings Of AfricaJuluka No 44 on 5 Feb 1983 (UK)
  11. She’s The Master (of the game) – Richard Jon Smith No 63 16 July 1983 (UK)
  12. ImpiJuluka No 87 on 6 August 1983 (UK)
  13. The ABC Of Kissing – Richard Jon Smith No 77 on 30 March 1985 (UK)
  14. Scatterlings Of AfricaSavuka No 75 on May 10 1987 (UK)
  15. LiesJonathan Butler No 18 on 1 August 1987 (UK)
  16. Holding OnJonathan Butler No 92 on 24 October 1987 (UK)
  17. AsimbonangaSavuka No 94 on January 24 1988 (UK)
  18. Take Good Care Of MeJonathan Butler No 89 on 13 February 1988 (UK)
  19. Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful WorldSavuka No 86 February 4 1990 (UK)
  20. World In Union ’95PJ Powers & Ladysmith Black Mambazo No 47 3 June 1995 (UK)
  21. Inkanyezi Nezazi (The Star And The Wiseman) – Ladysmith Mambazo No 33 15 November 1997 (UK)
  22. Ain’t No SunshineLadysmith Black Mambazo No 42 16 October 1999 (UK)
  23. Broken – Seether No 20 in 2004 (USA)
  24. When You Come Back 2010Vusi Mahlasela No 70 on 10 July 2010 (UK)
  25. Water – Tyla No 10 on November 28 2023 (USA)

The 23 Best of 2023

As another year fades out we have once again taken the opportunity to reflect on our favourite tracks of the year, as well as others that have caught our attention. We’ve included 23 new songs which capture a spectrum of South African musical styles.

Several of this year’s artists have appeared in our songs-of-the-year mixtapes over the previous three years and are back again: Stanley Sibanda (‘Clusters’), Julia Church (with a solo acoustic version of ‘Lullaby’, also released as an electronic track with PRAANA), Nakhane (‘Standing In Our Way’), Lucy Kruger & the Lost Boys (‘Burning Building’), We Kill Cowboys (‘Journey’), Alice Phoebe Lou (‘My Girl’), and the West Coast Wolves ‘Knuckles Tight’).

Two musicians who have been releasing music prior to the current century are back with new albums. Jonathan Butler released his first music as a solo artist back in 1975 and here we have included ‘Silver Rain’ from his Ubuntu album. Vusi Mahlasela released his first album with Shifty Records back in 1992, and returns with a new album, Umoya – Embracing The Human Spirit, from which we feature ‘Tsietsi La Letswalo’. In addition, veteran musician Gary Rathbone (with 1980s bands What Colours, Aeroplanes, and the Spectres) is back with his latest initiative, The Weathervanes (in collaboration with Nechama Brodie). Here we feature ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ from their debut EP.

We also include several musicians who have been on the scene for a while but who this year feature for their first time on our songs-of-the year list. These include East London-based Bongeziwe Mabandla (‘Soze’), Gauteng-based musicians Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC, ‘The Woods’), Acid Magus (‘Caligulater’), Shameless (‘Victim of Data’), and Tyla (‘Water’). Also included are Kwazulu-Natal based musicians Wren Hinds (‘Dream State’), The Lion, The Bear, and The Panther (‘Something Real’), and Jim Neversink (‘Man’s Best Friend’). We also include Cape Town-based musicians Bhex (‘Demons’), Ethyl Ether (‘Dead Conversation’), Beatenberg (‘Don’t Call Her Over To You’), Matthew Mole (‘Good Thing’), and Asher Gamedze (‘Wynter Time’).

Much has been made of Tyla’s ‘Water’ being the first song by a solo South African musician (or South African group) to reach the USA Billboard Top 10 since Hugh Masekela’s ‘Grazing In The Grass’ in 1968. It has been viewed over 100 million times on YouTube. Which is crazy (by comparison the Weathervane’s ‘Heart-shaped Box’ has less than 30 views). Popular musicians keep putting their music out there, regardless of what might happen to it, hoping that at the very least some listeners will enjoy it. We hope we have introduced you to something that connects with you. Give this mixtape a listen, and support the musicians who catch your interest. More than ever they need your support – buy their music, go see them live, and tell your friends about them! Enjoy …

  1. Soze – Bongeziwe Mabandla
  2. Clusters – Stanley Sibande
  3. Lullaby (acoustic) – Julia Church
  4. Dream State – Wren Hinds
  5. Tsietsi La Letswalo – Vusi Mahlasela
  6. Silver Rain – Jonathan Butler
  7. Standing In Our way – Nakhane
  8. The Woods – BCUC
  9. Demons – Bhex
  10. Burning Building – Lucy Kruger & the Lost Boys
  11. Journey – We Kill Cowboys
  12. Dead Conversation – Ethyl Ether
  13. Something Real – The Lion, the Bear and the Panther
  14. Man’s Best Friend – Jim Neversink
  15. Don’t Call Her Over To You – Beatenberg
  16. My Girl – Alice Phoebe Lou
  17. Heart-Shaped Box – The Weathervanes
  18. Good Thing – Matthew Mole
  19. Knuckles Tight – West Coast Wolves
  20. Caligulater – Acid Magus
  21. Victim Of Data – Shameless
  22. Wynter Time – Asher Gamedze
  23. Water – Tyla

Capital Radio 604 Listeners’ Top 25

During early lockdown in South Africa, in May/June 2020 former Capital Radio 604 listeners were invited to vote for their favourite South African songs of the 1980s. 18 people submitted their top 20 charts, in order of preference. For this mixtape we have decided to feature the top 25 songs from that chart. Songs were given 20 points if a number one on someone’s chart, all the way down to one point for a song listed at number 20.

Given that songs need to be known (and liked) by several people to be voted onto a chart like this, it is not a surprise that most of these songs are familiar to us, and are songs we would expect to see on an all-time-greatest chart. It is also not unexpected that many artists feature more than once: Bright Blue, Lesley Rae Dowling and eVoid all have two songs, and Juluka has three songs, with Johnny Clegg’s other band – Savuka – featuring a further song. Probably all of South Africa’s 1980s classics are included here. We hope you enjoy listening to them.

In no specific order, they are:

  1. Weeping – Bright Blue
  2. Clowns (See Yourself) – Ella Mental
  3. Shadows – eVoid
  4. Taximan – eVoid
  5. Scatterlings Of Africa – Juluka
  6. Man On The Moon – Ballyhoo
  7. Window On The World – Bright Blue
  8. Paradise Road – Joy
  9. Jabulani – Hotline
  10. Burnout – Sipho Mabuse
  11. Hey Boy – Via Afrika
  12. Here We Are – Face to Face
  13. Once In A Lifetime –Petit Cheval
  14. The Spaniard – Lesley Rae Dowling
  15. December African Rain – Juluka
  16. Slow rain – Celtic Rumours
  17. Johnny Calls The Chemist – Falling Mirror
  18. Ancient Dust Of Africa – Edi Niederlander
  19. Weekend Special – Brenda & the Big Dudes
  20. Baby You Been Good – Robin Auld
  21. Grips Of Emotion – Lesley Rae Dowling
  22. Mysteries And Jealousy – The Helicopters
  23. Lies – Jonathan Butler
  24. Africa – Juluka
  25. Asimbonanga – Savuka

Best South African Songs of 2022

At the beginning of each year we reflect on what we think were the best South African songs of the previous year. 2022 was another good year for South African music, with a healthy array of new music released. We are highlighting 24 songs which we think everyone should listen to.

Once again there were several new releases from veteran South African musicians. Ivan Kadey from late ’70s-early ’80s band National Wake, is back with a new band (IKD Band) and album, Edge of Time, from which we feature the title track. The album marks a shift from the more intense reggae-punk influenced music of yonder years towards a more subtle introspection. Robin Auld is another veteran South African singer with early roots in the SA punk-ska scene (with the Lancaster Band) who is still releasing new music. Auld has released solo albums for four decades now, and his latest, The Everlovin’ Wind is excellent. “About A Boy” is an upbeat track that implores you to get up and boogie.

There are several musicians who have more recently become veterans or are veterans-in-the-making (we are not quite sure at what point a musician becomes a veteran). Fuzigish have made a welcome return with a self-titled album, with the track “Believer” reminding us what a good ska-jol band they are. Also back with new releases are: Laurie Levine, the song “Dunes” is the title track of her EP; Nakhane, with the EP, Leading Lines, from which we feature “My Ma Was Good”; and Anna Wolf with the EP, Romance Was Born, from which we have taken “Heaven Breathes”. Zolani Mohala of Freshlyground released the single “Wawandithembisile”, a track featuring Kenza & Sun El Musician. “Snake Oil City” is taken from Dan Patlansky’s Shelter Of Bones album, which has been receiving good reviews far and wide. Lucy Kruger & the Lost Boys were back with the third of their trilogy of albums, release in consecutive years. “Risk” is taken from Teen Tapes (For Performing Your Own Stunts), yet another exceptional album. We have also included a single by Dope St Jude, “You’re Gonna Make It”.

The Kongos, like several of the musicians on this mixtape, are now based overseas (they are in the USA), and “Speak Free” is taken from their album 1929, Part 3. The London-based Soap Girls released the album In My Skin, which opens with the high-energy punkish “Breathe”, the track we have included here. “Malele” is taken from Montparnasse Musique’s self-titled EP, released by Real World Records.

Mongrel Records is an exciting newish South African label who have produced a steady flow of releases over the past few years. 2022 was a continuation of that. Apart from the aforementioned Fuzigish album, there were new releases (featured here) from Evert Snyman & the Aviary, the Pruning In The Dark album from which we have chosen “I Never Listen When You Speak”, and a few singles, including “Dead Flowers” by the Filthy Hippies, and “The Veneer” by A Million Ways To Die, a project of former No Friends of Harry band members, Rob McLennan and Dace de Vetta.

This mixtape also features some notable single releases by artists who are fairly new on the music scene: “Blacksnake Blues” by All Them Witches, “Triomf” by The Great Yawn, and “Polar Operational Environmental Satellite” by We Kill Cowboys.

There are also several songs from artists with first time official releases in 2022: Australian-based Ruby Gill’s debut album, I Forgot To Be Profound Today, is more than well worth listening to. We have included the title track. Vietnam-based Madele’ Vermaak released her debut EP, A Pocket Full Of Stones, from which we have selected “Love Breaks Time”. There were noteworthy single releases from by West Coast Wolves, (“Factory Of Bones”), Lokaly (“Breathing”), and East London band, Can Of Worms (“Pillow”). We look forward to more music from these artists in the next year or so.

Once again, we hope you enjoy most, if not all, these songs, and that you end up exploring details about the various musicians and their music. There are several 2022 albums and Eps we think are worth buying, or streaming, and we hope you do! Also look out for live performances, these artists rely on your support!

  1. Believer – Fuzigish
  2. I Forgot To Be Profound Today – Ruby Gill
  3. Wawandithembisile – Zolani Mohala featuring Kenza & Sun El Musician
  4. My Ma Was Good – Nakhane
  5. Edge Of Time – IKD Band
  6. Dunes – Laurie Levine
  7. Speak Free – Kongos
  8. Factory Of Bones – West Coast Wolves
  9. Breathing – Lokaly
  10. I Never Listen When You Speak – Evert Snyman & the Aviary
  11. All About A Boy – Robin Auld
  12. Malele – Montparnasse Musique
  13. Breathe – The Soap Girls
  14. Blacksnake Blues – All Them Witches
  15. Snake Oil City – Dan Patlansky
  16. Risk – Lucy Kruger & the Lost Boys
  17. Love Breaks Time – Madele’ Vermaak
  18. Triomf – The Great Yawn
  19. Heaven Breathes – Anna Wolf
  20. Polar Operational Environmental Satellite – We Kill Cowboys
  21. Dead Flowers – Filthy Hippies
  22. The Veneer – A Million Ways To Die
  23. Pillow – Can of Worms
  24. You’re Gonna Make It – Dope St Jude

The Best South African Music – 2021 – Vol.2

2021 was another year hindered by lockdown but many South African musicians and record companies were busy with new releases. This is the second mixtape featuring what we think are the best 30 songs of 2021. This selection is generally more relaxed than the previous one, so sit back, chill and enjoy …

There are a few musicians included on this second volume who also appeared on the first, although not in quite the same way. While previously The Kalahari Surfers performed with Lesego Rampolokeng, here they partner the IKD Band, led by Ivan Kadey, formerly of National Wake. They sing “Moonwatcher”.

Arno Carstens is the lead singer of the Springbok Nude Girls, featured in volume one, but here he appears on his own, with “Reason”, from his 7th solo album, Out Of The Blue Into The Light. Koppies have three vocalists: Victoria Hume, Chris Letcher and Matthew van der Want. Each gives the group a distinct sound. On the previous mixtape we included “# Time’s Up” with Matthew van der Want on vocals. This time Victoria Hume is on vocals, singing the haunting “Hospital Song”.

It has been over a decade since BLK JKS released the album After Robots (2009) and the EP Zol (2010) but in 2021 they were back with a new album, Abantu/ Before Humans, from which we have selected “Human Hearts”. There were also new pieces from two familiar jazz musicians – Bokani Dyer and Bheki Mseleku. Dyer’s “Ke nako” is taken from the compilation album, Indaba Is, curated by Thandi Ntuli and Siyabonga Mthembu. “Cosmic Dance” is from the posthumously released Bheki Mseleku album, Beyond The Stars. The album was recorded as a solo session in London in 2003. The session was set up by Mseleku’s musician and music scholar friend, Eugene Skeef, and it is Skeef who oversaw this release, working with Fred Bolza and Francis Gooding, co-founders of new record label, Tapestry Works.

Veteran South African guitarist Tony Cox released the album The World Went Quiet from which we feature “Bathed In Blue”, and another veteran South African musician, Wendy Oldfield released the album Salt, the title track of which is included here. Lucy Kruger and her backing band, the Lost Boys, entered the South African music scene more recently, although Kruger has now relocated to Germany. In 2019 she released the album Sleeping Tapes For Some Girls, the first in a planned trilogy of albums. In 2021 the second album, Transit Tapes (For Women Who Move Furniture Around), was released, from which we have selected the first single release, “Evening Train”. We look forward to the April 2022 release of the third album in the ‘tapes’ trilogy, Teen Tapes (For Performing Your Own Stunts). Mthata-born Nathi (Nkosinathi Mankayi) has been around for almost a decade, having won several South African Music Awards in 2015. In 2021 he released the single, “iThemba”, featured here.

Singer songwriters Dave Starke, Alice Phoebe Louw, Stanley Sibande, Gaellou, and Sarah Blake are also featured on this mixtape. Dave Starke’s “Burn After Reading” was released in December 2020 but sneaks in because we only came across it in 2021! Alice Phoebe Lou has been releasing new music at a prolific rate lately, with two new albums in 2021: Glow and Child’s Play. The title track of the latter is included here. Zambian-born Stanley Sibande released his debut album, Hopeless Dreams in August 2021. “Lavender eyes” is a single taken from the album. “Language of Kindness” is folk musician Gaëllou’s debut single, released in February 2021. Another debut single in 2021, “Precious Time” was released by Cape Town-based multi-instrumentalist and singer songwriter Sarah Blake. It sees out this mixtape.

2021 was a productive year for South African music. We have tried to capture a good glimpse of it over these two mixtapes and hope it will interest you into following some new musicians. As always, they depend on your support.

  1. Moonwatcher – Ikd Band & The Kalahari Surfers
  2. Human Hearts – Blk Jks
  3. Ke Nako – Bokani Dyer
  4. Cosmic Dance – Bheki Mseleku
  5. Bathed In Blue – Tony Cox
  6. Burn After Reading – Dave Starke
  7. Hospital Song – Koppies
  8. Evening Train – Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys
  9. Child’s Play – Alice Phoebe Lou
  10. Ithemba – Nathi
  11. Salt – Wendy Oldfield
  12. Reason – Arno Carstens
  13. Lavender Eyes – Stanley Sibande
  14. Language Of Kindness – Gaellou
  15. Precious Time – Sarah Blake

The Best South African Music – 2021 – Vol.1

At the beginning of each year we reflect on what we think were the best South African songs of the previous year. 2021 was a refreshingly good year for South African music, with a divergent array of new music released. Whereas we featured 20 songs from 2020, this time around we are highlighting 30 songs which we think everyone should listen to. These are presented over two volumes of fifteen songs each, so that the listening experience is less daunting, fitting more easily into our often busy schedules.

This first volume includes several veterans of the South African music scene. The Springbok Nude Girls sum up the return to a semi-normal life after severe lockdown with “Emerging Submarines”, one of the 2021 singles from their Partypocalypse album. Lesego Rampolokeng and the Kalahari Surfers are back with Babylon Mission Report, their first album since 1992’s End Beginnings. “Perverse Chrysalis” is a good example of Rampolokeng’s insightful poetry against the backdrop of the Kalahari Surfers’ deft accompaniment. Tim Parr first appeared on the South African music scene as guitarist for Baxtop back in 1979 and has featured in several bands since then, including Ella Mental in the 1980s and the Zap Dragons and Colourfields in the 1990s. He has also intermittently performed as a solo artist, most notably with the release of his Still Standing solo album released in 1996. This mixtape features “Time”, a single released this year. Hopefully it will be the first of many more songs from the legendary South African guitarist. Another guitarist with a solid reputation, with several solo albums to his credit, is Dan Patlansky who will be bringing out a new album, Hounds Loose, in 2022. Here we include his first single and title track from that album, released in late November. Steve Louw has been a feature of the South African music scene since the 1980s, with his bands All Night Radio and then Big Sky. In 2021 he released a solo album, Headlight Dreams, from which “Crazy River” is taken.

Lead vocalist for Freshlyground, Zolani Mohola (The One Who Sings), released a couple of singles as a solo artist in 2021. “Remember Who You Are” is the song we have opted for here. London-based Anna Wolf released her first solo album, The Dark Horse (under the name Tailor), in 2012. Over the past few years she has re-emerged with songs released under her own name. One such song is “Gong”, a single released early in 2021.

Montparnasse Musique is a collaboration between Algerian-French producer Nadjib Ben Bella and South African DJ Aero Manyelo. Their self-titled debut EP was released in 2021 and sure to get you jiving around your living room. On “Bitumba” they team up with Congolese band Mbongwana Star to great rhythmic effect. In mid-2021 Mushroom Hour Half Hour were back with the album, On Our Own Clock. This oft-changing ensemble featured artists from London, Dakar and Johannesburg. The Johannesburg musicians were Asher Gamedze (drums), Siya Makuzeni (trombone), Zoe Molelekwa (keyboards) and Tebogo Sedumede (bass). Recording began in June 2020 in the three cities and the digital collaboration resulted in this 2021 album, from which we have selected “Ngikhethile”.

It has been a while since fellow Shifty singer songwriters Chris Letcher and Matthew VD Want have released solo material but in 2020 they teamed up with Letcher’s singer-songwriter partner, Victoria Hume, bassist Andrew Joseph and drummer Nicholas Bjorkman. What began as a live show to showpiece new songs by Hume, Letcher and VD Want led to the formation of Koppies and the release of an EP of six new songs, two each by the aforementioned musicians. On this mixtape we feature one of VD Want’s compositions, “# Time’s up”.

There are also a few songs by relatively new musicians. Indie singer-songwriter Nic Jeffrey contributes “Say Love”, We Kill Cowboys perform “Take”, and The Great Yawn contribute “Take My Money”. It is exciting to see the recent emergence of indie label, Mongrel Records, especially as they are signing an enjoyable array of refreshing new artists: Here we feature the infectious “The Day I Gave My Sister Away” by The Amblers (duo Jason Hinch and Justin Swart) and “Feel It” by the Filthy Hippies, taken from the trio’s 2021 album Animal Farm.

We hope you discover some new music on this mixtape and follow a path of exploration into the music by the artists you like, and be sure to support them. The second volume appears in two weeks’ time, so listen to this one so long, put it on repeat and see you again next time with 15 more great 2021 releases …

  1. Bitumba – Montparnasse Musique & Mbongwana Star
  2. Ngikhethile – Mushroom Hour Half Hour
  3. Perverse Chrysalis – Lesego Rampolokeng & Kalahari Surfers
  4. Emerging Submarines – Springbok Nude Girls
  5. The Day I Gave My Sister Away – The Amblers
  6. Hounds Loose – Dan Patlansky
  7. # Time’s Up – Koppies
  8. Feel It – Filthy Hippies
  9. Say Love – Nic Jeffrey
  10. Take – We Kill Cowboys
  11. Time – Tim Parr
  12. Remember Who You Are – Zolani Mohola
  13. Crazy River – Steve Louw
  14. Take My Money – The Great Yawn
  15. Gong – Anna Wolf

The Best South African Music – 2020

2020 was a rough year for everyone: Covid infections affecting some and lockdowns affecting us all. Such a rough year, in fact, that it has taken Mixtapes.ZA almost two months to recover, and get going again in 2021!

We are starting the year with a look back on what we thought were some of the best songs of 2020. We have chosen twenty in all, although there were others by the artists already listed which we have left out so as to include a diverse range of musicians.

Although there are twenty distinct artists listed, some musicians appear on more than one song. Lucy Kruger features in her own right as Lucy Kruger and the Lost Boys while also part of Medicine Boy, while Arno Carstens appears with a solo release in addition to being the lead singer of the Springbok Nude Girls. And, Nduduzo Makhathini sings a duet with his wife, Omagugu Makhathini, while also being a member of Shabaka and the Ancestors.

Despite the lockdown, 2020 saw various releases recorded outside South Africa and/or with some form of international collaboration. Julia Church (England), Lucy Kruger (Germany), and Medicine Boy (Germany) were all based in Europe for the recording of songs listed here, while Nigerian Tony Allen (who sadly died in 2020) and Hugh Masekela recorded the original sessions for the album Rejoice together in London in 2010, with the album only coming out in 2020, with additional tracks added in 2019. Meanwhile Simphiwe Dana collaborated with Malian Salif Keita who co-produced (with Dana) many of the songs on her album Banako. In addition, several Malian musicians (including Keita) perform on the album. Shabaka and the Ancestors was formed by British-Barbadian musician Shabaka Hutchings after a trip to South Africa several years previously. The rest of the group are South African jazz musicians with whom Hutchings developed a rapport during his initial visits to South Africa. Seba Kaapstad too, involves international collaboration with members coming from Germany, Swaziland and South Africa, while being based in Cape Town.

There are number of South African musicians who have developed a reputation over several years who are featured on our list: Amersham, Arno Carstens, Benguela, Simphiwe Dana, Lucy Kruger and the Lost Boys, Hugh Masekela, Medicine Boy, Seba Kaapstad, Shabaka and the Ancestors, the Spectres, Springbok Nude Girls, Van der Want/Letcher and Anna Wolf (aka Tailor). There was a debut album from relative newcomers the Medicine Dolls who continue to establish themselves, as do Ami Faku, Sun El Musician and Spaza. Julia Church followed her 2019 debut EP Take What You Want, Do As You Please with the very impressive follow-up EP To Have, Not Just To Hold and then yet another 2020 EP, Cups and Balloons. Hopefully the best songs from these along with some new tracks will be put together on a debut album in 2021. An exciting debut album, Buffering Juju, was released by Dumama and Kechou, very well worth adding to your collection.

A big heads up to new label Mushroom Hour Half Hour who brought out both the Dumama and Kechou and Spaza albums in 2020. Their albums are very professionally produced and packaged as downloads and also on CD and LP. This is very refreshing in a recording environment in which music is increasingly released as download only. UK-based Matsuli Music is also putting out well-packaged and exciting South African releases (re-releases) including (in March 2021), the Beaters’ Harari and Harari’s Rufaro Happiness. Their releases are available as downloads and on LP but unfortunately not on CD. The only way these initiatives can keep going is if we support them financially, so make sure you explore their release and buy whatever grabs your fancy.

Finally, enjoy listening to some new South African music on this mixtape and be sure to let us know if you we have left out anyone who you think should have been included.

Show Playlist + Poll