#spaza

[moonfirebrides]

Sizwile by Spaza

Sizwile · SPAZA · Nonku Phiri · Malcolm Jiyane · Gontse Makhene · Ariel Zamonsky Sizwile ℗ Mushroom Hour Half Hour Released on: 2020-09-04 Producer: Andrew Curnow Producer: Dion Monti Music Publisher: Mushroom Hour Half Hour Lyricist, Composer: Ariel Zamonsky Lyricist, Composer: Gontse Makhene Lyricist, Composer: Malcolm Jiyane Lyricist, Composer: Nonkululeko Phiri

[ibhokhwe]

one of my best vinyl purchases wow

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

The Ibrahim Khalil Shihab Quintet featuring Mankunku - Spring / SPAZA - UPRIZE!

It is definitely not spring, but as its title promises, this beautiful bit of South African jazz will almost certainly bring a bit of that seasonal feeling to the winter of our discontent. Recorded in the late 1960s by pianist Ibrahim Khalil Shihab and his group, Spring calls to mind Atlantic-era Coltrane at its breeziest, with saxophonist Winston ‘Mankunku’ Ngozi fluttering above the steady, sunny backing. Highly recommended! 

And for some South African jazz of a more recent vintage, check out Spaza’s score for the documentary UPRIZE! I haven’t seen the film yet, but if it’s half as powerful as the music here, then it’s very powerful indeed. Entirely improvised, the album goes from brooding to joyful, from abstract to earthy, all the while mixing in dialogue from the film. A great listen ... 

And hey, if you’re reading this, maybe you don’t need to know, but there’s a new Bandcamping column up this morning on Aquarium Drunkard — those things compile these Bandcamp Mondays into one handy webpage. 

[burlveneer-music]

SPAZA - s/t LP - incredible improvised jazz & funk from South Africa (via Slow Music Movement)

Conceived in the Mushroom Hour Half Hour lab, SPAZA is a band with no permanent personnel, with each lineup assembled for the express purpose of recording once-off improvised or workshopped material. For this, the initial salvo, SPAZA was put together from a group of musicians with individual and collective links to Johannesburg’s jazz, afro funk and experimental electro scenes. In the context of this completely improvised album, the term “spaza” not only refers to the gallery in Troyeville, Johannesburg where this project was recorded live (and in one take) in the autumn of 2015, but to South Africa’s thousands of informal neighbourhood stores. In South Africa, “spaza” has come to signify an entrepreneurial spirit, especially in the country’s black townships where economic barriers to business ownership mean that only a few can attain the status of formal business ownership. In the country’s socio-political context, spazas, usually operating out of converted garages, shacks or repurposed shipping containers, are also contested territories. They are sites of often fatal bloodshed where financially disenfranchised South Africans routinely mete out their frustrations on those they consider “foreigners” and “outsiders”. It is these outsiders who have come to dominate the spaza economy. However, spazas are also colourful, with their facades branded, styled and designed by each owner. They can become the nerve centres of social activity in the communities they occupy and are often stocked with an array of iconic South African brands and products, many of which are referenced in the track names of this album. Perhaps obliquely, there are musical sensibilities to be grasped at the mention of the term. “Spaza,” the recording, the location, the revolving ensemble - all evoke a spirit of independence, a D.I.Y aesthetic, a propensity for spontaneity, and, literally, a coming together of minds at the corner to shoot the breeze or let off a seriously considered prognosis. At times opaque, and at others direct, SPAZA is always unyielding and propulsive. This could be the sound of the city turned inside out, ruminating on its troubled history and ever morphing present. There are pensive and celebratory streaks crisscrossing the album, not to mention a vulnerability that is in keeping with the spontaneous ethos of Mushroom Hour Half Hour. The results, shaped in the Pan African milieu that is Johannesburg, is a freewheeling representation of continental astral travel. Featuring: Ariel Zamonsky – upright bass Gontse Makhene – percussion and vocals João Orecchia – synthesisers & electronics Nosisi Ngakane – vocals & FX Siya Makuzeni – vocals, FX & trombone Waldo Alexander – electric violin with FX pedal Guest Feature on Stametta Spuit: Nonku Phiri – vocals

[mediadigest]

2020 | Spaza - Uprize! (Music From The Original Motion Picture) Mushroom Hour Half Hour #spaza #uprize #uprizedocumentary #mushroomhourhalfhour @spaza @mushroomhour https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkqRT0JwKl/?igshid=10aqidfdh6av3

[thenewobjective]

SPAZA ~ UPRIZE!

Black Lives Matter.  While this statement has always been true, in recent history it has reached the public consciousness at certain juncture points: the 60s and today in the United States, and 1976 in South Africa. UPRIZE! is a film about the tipping point of apartheid, and is now an astonishing score from South African collective SPAZA.  By interweaving snippets of the film with their own…

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[xam-illustration]

Here it is!! It's for the Cape Town's #021tcg curated by @thespazabrand. If you can guess, it's @farrylpurkiss !! I had a lot of fun doing this one. There's another one coming up soon... Keep a lookout for other artist interpretation of Cape Town Influencer of the 021 scenes. #021tcg #jagercraft #xamillustration #spaza https://www.instagram.com/p/B2jNFYrBs4q/?igshid=b31aonyobv23

[colectivofuturo]

Colectivo Digs... SPAZA “Spaza” LP  (Mushroom Hour Half Hour). 

We couldn’t miss an opportunity to highlight one of our favourite albums thus far this year. SPAZA honestly sounds like little else, a potent mixture of South African spiritual jazz and avant garde electronics. Improvised on the spot at the Spaza art gallery in Johannesburg, by a one off ensemble of musicians. Vocalists Nosisi Ngakane and Siya Makuzeni (also on trombone) weave magic, sometimes seemingly retuned electronically into something alien yet emotive, over SPAZA’s incredible rhythm section, Gontse Makhene on percussion and Ariel Zamonsky on bass, who lay down the deepest grooves. Meanwhile, Waldo Alexander adds strings for the perfect counterbalance and João Orecchia adds waves of alien synth-like sounds and other strange effects. Something very special is happening in Johannesburg.

Click here to buy Vinyl or Digital 

Stream on Spotify or Apple Music.