ABOUT THIS ITEM

Strut continue their essential three-part excursion into the archives of South African music with the second volume of the "Next Stop… Soweto" series. With international forms of music discouraged by the South African authorities during the 1960s, township jive or mbaqanga arose as innovative artists combined close harmony singing and traditional African styles with a bouncy township beat. Imported US music became strictly the domain of house parties, private record collections and underground shebeens. Volume 2 of "Next Stop… Soweto" also touches on mbaqanga and jazz artists who dabbled with soul, funk and rock fusions during the early 70s, including the Mgababa Queens and Mahotella Queens, and revered SA jazz combo The Heshoo Beshoo Group. The compilation also features a rare psychedelic track from one of the only recordings made of playwright Gibson Kente’s acclaimed theatre pieces, "Too Late".