Son of the late, legendary Dr Philip Nchipi Tabane and heir to the malombo sound that he originated and pioneered in the early 1960s, Thabang has been touring the world, playing with his father’s band and other South African luminaries since he was 8 years old.
Emerging into his own with his debut solo album, Matjale, this energetic percussionist carves a driving, joyous and worldly version of the malombo genre that takes in his continental travels. The album brims with ambition and an appetite for life. Employing brisk tempos, nimble basslines and intersecting polyrhythms, Thabang crafts songs cognisant of the hardships of life, but chooses to deliver them with an irrepressible optimism.
Expanding the parameters of what is essentially an artform patented by his father, Thabang and his cohorts seem unburdened by pedigree, infusing the sound with a modern sensibility. His reverence for the vibrational resonance and drive of the bass guitar, not to mention his explosive bursts of hand drumming, gives the album an undeniable, cathartic exuberance.
All songs composed by Thabang Tabane, except Nyanda Yeni (music composed by Thabang Tabane and lyrics from a traditional song), Father & Mother (composed by Dr Philip Tabane) & Ke Mmone (music composed by Thabang Tabane & lyrics from Dr Philip Tabane’s song, Ke Ultwile)
All songs performed by Thabang Tabane (malombo drums, hlwahlwadi, toys & vocals), Dennis Moanganei Magagula (djembe, hlwahlwadi & toys), Sibusile Xaba (guitar & sounds) and Thulani Ntuli (electric bass guitar)
All songs recorded live at the Tabane household, Mamelodi on 28 August 2016, except Bengheko and Babatshwenya, which were recorded live at Sima Kade, Magaliesberg on 27 June 2016
