Summertime: Best of Black Umfolosi

Asked to name two southern African a capella choirs, many will struggle after nominating Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Songlines readers might be able to identify Black Umfolosi, but it’s always seemed rather unfair that the Zimbabwean troupe has never enjoyed a fraction of the international attention showered on their South African Zulu counterparts. Founded in 1982 by Thomeki Dube, who oversees the group with a similarly single-minded vision to Ladysmith’s Joseph Shabalala, Umfolosi are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a fine 12-track compilation drawn from their eight studio albums. The similarities between the two vocal groups is unsurprising: the Ndebele culture of Black Umfolosi derives from an early 19th century breakaway from the Zulu kingdom of Shaka; both have been shaped by the same influences. The similarities are most evident on a brace of English-language songs – ‘Summertime’ and the hymn ‘Yes Lord’ ‘Imbube’ is Umfolosi’s version of the famous Solomon Linda tune, also known as ‘Wimoweh/The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. ‘Malaika’ is a lovely version of a well-known Swahili song. ‘Shosholoza’ finds the group’s imitating the sound of the steam train carrying workers to the mines. Yet if you listen closely, alongside the similarities there are plenty of subtle variations in the arrangements. It’s often said that you only need to own one Ladysmith album. But you really need to own an Umfolosi album, too. And this is surely the one.