KON’KO MAN – STRONG MAN !

Shortly after working with Madala and Airto Moreira during the 1994 Outernational Meltdown recordings, Pops Mohamed called me early 1995 to say that the Shades choir from London was touring South Africa and that he wanted them to record some songs with Bafo Madala. A few weeks later the multi track analog tapes arrived in the UK during a recording session with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim who were so touched by the music that they asked to take the material to Santa Barbara for further production and overdubs. The track Konko Man (or Strong Man) has traveled the world andhelped establishing a global fan base for this gentle Zulu man from Durban, South Africa. The Oscar nominated and locally produced film YESTERDAY for which Madala composed the music, has cemented his reputation and his views expressed in his songs attract a lot of young South Africans in search of traditional values.

Abangoma, Sani Bonani and Igwababa feature the amazing vocals of Busi Mhlongo from the times when Madala first introduced Busi to the label owner Robert Trunz during the recording sessions in Johannesburg in 1995.