Madosini
Madosini — The Voice and Strings of the Earth
Dr Latozi “Madosini” Mpahleni (1943 – 2022) was one of South Africa’s greatest traditional artists — a master of the uhadi and umrhubhe (Xhosa musical bows), composer, singer, and storyteller whose art preserved a lineage stretching back centuries. Her collaboration with Robert Trunz and B&W Music, later MELT 2000, gave her ancient sound a global platform without losing its authenticity.
Born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, Madosini grew up immersed in Xhosa oral and musical traditions, learning to play the uhadi bow from an early age. For decades her music remained rooted in village performance and ceremony — until the early 1990s, when she was brought to B&W Music in Cape Town by Dizu Plaatjies and Mzwandile Qotoyi of Amampondo. Through their introduction, her music reached Robert Trunz, who immediately recognised its cultural power and emotional depth.
Under Trunz’s direction, Madosini began recording for B&W Music, appearing on the Outernational Meltdown sessions alongside Pops Mohamed, Amampondo, and Madala Kunene — artists who were collectively shaping a new South African soundscape in the post-apartheid era. Her haunting uhadi and umrhubhe tones became a cornerstone of the label’s emerging identity.
Her first major solo project came with Power to the Women (B&W Music / MELT 2000, 1998), recorded and produced by Robert Trunz and Pops Mohamed. The album introduced her music to international audiences while preserving its natural resonance and the unfiltered timbre of her handmade instruments. Rooted in Xhosa traditions yet global in spirit, it celebrated feminine strength and ancestral wisdom through songs that spoke of balance, resilience, and respect for the earth.
Madosini’s connection with MELT 2000 continued through collaborations with Pops Mohamed and British producer Greg Hunter, who remixed her track “Uthando Luphelile” for African Meltdown (2001) — later reissued on M2KR Revisited. The piece became emblematic of MELT’s philosophy: ancient voices re-imagined through modern sound design.
In 2019, Rhodes University honoured her with an honorary doctorate for her lifelong contribution to South African heritage and her mentorship of younger artists. Until her passing in 2022, Madosini continued to perform and teach, embodying the same spirit she first brought to B&W Music three decades earlier — dignity, simplicity, and deep connection to the earth.
For Robert Trunz and the MELT 2000 community, Madosini remains the living essence of “Musical Energy and Loud Truth beyond 2000.” her legacy endures through her recordings and the timeless resonance of her bows — the true strings of the earth.