Have you listened to them yet?

I pre-booked Grey Britain today. I’m excited.

Adam Cohen

The trouble with being Leonard Cohen’s son is, it’d be impossible to be as good a songwriter as your father is.
I’m not a fan of Adam Cohen’s songs or his band Low Millions, but I have to admit these covers of Leonard’s songs are beautiful.

[...]

My favorite album: Graceland

I heard The Boy in The Bubble (Graceland’s first track) for the first when I was in 6th grade. My dad played it for a friend and me one Saturday evening on my new CD player and I think my mouth fell open as soon as I heard that unique intro. I lack the vocabulary [...]

Isicathamiya

Amaryoni is probably the most influential Mbube group nowadays in South Africa. Again, they sing Isicathamiya. You might remember that theirs was my favorite cover of The Lion Sleeps Tonight:

What makes their music sound so different from Joseph Shabalala’s is that they mix isicathamiya sounds with Gospel and township styles.
Township music? [...]

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

If you read my post on South African Zulu music, you might remember that Isicathamiya is a musical style, originally from the mines, that consists of a cappella male voices singing smoothly and accompanied by tip-toe dancing.
This style was in fact introduced by Ladysmith Black Mambazo themselves, as they softened down the loud voices of [...]