In 1994 South Africa entered a new political dispensation and there was great optimism, following years of Apartheid tyranny. Traditional music stalwarts Amampondo got together with a brass quintet, The Solid Brass, who were all members of the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, to record repertoire that the musicians felt reflected the times.
As it turned out many creative efforts were overshadowed by other events in the country and despite some foreign touring and local concerts, the project did not take off live.
But the recordings were well received in the USA, Scandinavia and Europe particularly in the classical music scene so we have re-packaged and will now re-issue them in South Africa after an absence of some years from the market.
It is no mean task to bring together handmade wooden marimbas with concert pitch brass, but the performers scraped and sanded their instruments, re-tuned their horns and arranged the percussion in repeated rehearsal to produce a sensitive and colourful recording.
The repertoire of 9 tracks includes original works from the players in the ensemble as well as arrangements of two South African classics, Ntyilontyilo and the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel? iAfrica.
Tracks:
1. Almost Eighteen 6:47
2. Ntyilontyilo 3:21
3. Kraal 5:39
4. Guala Matala 5:31
5. Got to Find 5:38
6. Prayer 6:28
7. Naughty Boy 4:34
8. Rites 8:21
9. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica 3:03
