Next Stop Soweto Vol 1: The Golden Age Of Mbaqan

Strut follow their recent forays into Nigerian and Ethio grooves with a brand new wide-ranging three-part series exploring underground South African music during the late '60s and '70s. 'Next Stop... Soweto' Volume 1 explores the vibrant energy of the township jive sound, whilst Volumes 2 and 3, released across Autumn and Winter 2010, cover rare South African soul, funk & Hammond R&B and the country's rich jazz scene. Jazz had been a fixture in South African music since the 50's and jive initially emerged a decade later as a fusion combining elements of rural Zulu music and harmony vocal styles with Western instrumentation. Hear STRUT trace some of the amazing music - that often only appeared on short run 45's at the time - including tracks from lesser known bands that plied their trade under apartheid during the years before the tumultuous Soweto uprising of 1976... until now all have been largely unknown to the outside world. The series is the result of several years of painstaking research and vinyl archaeology in South Africa by compilers DUNCAN BROOKER and FRANCIS GOODING. The CD package features an extensive booklet featuring detailed notes by Gooding alongside many previously unseen archive photos. All tracks have never been available on CD before! With the world's eyes on South Africa for the forthcoming World Cup soccer this year - the world's ears need to hear this release to fully appreciate the culture of Southern Africa! This is the first high profile compilation of its kind!