Afrika Mamas

One cannot help but be transported to the rolling hills of Zululand when listening to the Afrika Mamas’ latest, self-titled album. In this part of the continent, Zulu men and women have for centuries gathered in song to tell stories and express feelings of love, struggle and everything in between. Following tradition, the seven Zulu female vocalists who make up the Afrika Mamas present us with an upbeat 12-track album that tells of battles, loss and gratitude, heartache, jealousy and independence.

Afrika Mamas is a choral feast of traditional Zulu a capella music with contemporary blues, jazz and gospel influences. Two of the tracks are sung in English, while the remaining songs are in Zulu. These are the ones that dazzle most. The powerful vocalists cover the musical spectrum from the richest contralto to the sweetest soprano and most of the tracks follow a call-and-response format peppered with wonderful clicks, ‘shhhs’ and rolls of the tongue. Subtle percussion can be heard throughout the album, but the female voice and the well-known kinship shared among the seven singers take centre stage.