BCUC - WOMEX 23 Artist Award

First published in the WOMEX – World Music Expo 2023 delegate guide.



Based in Soweto, Johannesburg, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC for short) don’t limit themselves to the music of any single culture group. They epitomise the plurality of South Africa: their music reflects all the people around them, and they sing in all eleven of the country’s official languages. And from that, they make a big, big sound. Drums, percussion, bass guitar, whistles, horns and vocals – it all combines into a powerful driving force that becomes unstoppable. Their explosive live energy takes influence from hip-hop, rock, funk, gospel and Afrobeat, but also indigenous spiritual practices and magic. It’s no wonder they’re firm festival favourites across the globe.

With their all-embracing musical philosophy, BCUC are inherently political. Their songs are shot through with political messages and lessons. They hold high their values and social responsibilities, while being unafraid to criticise the wrongs around them. Like their music, their political perspective is uniquely South African while sharing a solidarity that encompasses the African continent and world as a whole. Even their organisation is utopian – the seven-piece collective is leaderless, each member contributing equally to the passion of the music.

BCUC represent the roots, trunk and branches of South African traditional music. This is cultural preservation in a way that isn’t frozen in time like a museum, but in a way that is living and breathing and growing and dancing. For their dedication to their music, their people and their country; for embodying the strength, unity and progress of their band name; and for their sheer ability to raise any roof, it is with pleasure that BCUC are the recipients of the WOMEX 23 Artist Award.


Photo: BCUC perform at WOMEX 23, by Jacob Crawfurd

Mpho Majiga - World Affairs

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 136, April 2018.

Mpho Majiga
World Affairs
Africantunz Records & Promotions (51 mins)

Mpho Majiga is a South African gospel singer with a disco vibe. This is his fifth album, and World Affairs, as its title suggests, deals with big issues – songs encourage listeners to ‘say no to terrorism’ and to help victims of Ebola.

The first impression of the album is MIDI-tastic – so many synthesised xylophones and programmed cowbell’n’claps. It gets less drastic the further through the album you get, but whether that is because it gets more tasteful or your ears just get used to it, I’m not really sure.

Across the seven unique tracks and a handful of remixes and reprises, Majiga’s music is pretty much standard Afrogospel-pop but with less proselytising. It’s very cheesy and the musicality is not always perfect, but I have to admit it is rather charming. A lot of the tracks are fun and feel-good (slip the reggae remix of ‘Dream of Peace’ into your Summer 2018 playlist for smiles) and the best is saved till last, with a house remix of the track ‘Help’.

If you like cheery, cheesy gospel and don’t mind a couple of questionable harmonies or MIDI instruments, maybe give this a shot.

Dizu Plaatjies and Friends - Ubuntu: the Common String

First published in fRoots issue 393, March 2016

Dizu Plaatjies and Friends
Ubuntu – The Common String
Mountain Records (58 mins)

As one of South Africa’s foremost ‘world music’ exports, an expert in the musical bow and many of his country’s traditional styles, Dizu Plaatjies is a musician who constantly strives to evolve his sound. This has led to the creation of this ‘and Friends’ album, exploring other sounds with the help of his guest musicians.

In this album, Plaatjies is once again backed by his Ibuyamba Ensemble (the band he formed after leaving the legendary Amapondo), but the sound is more formed by and focussed on the many guest musicians that he introduces, including South African classical guitarist Derek Gripper (most well-known for his transcriptions of kora pieces for guitar) and French jazz group L’Arbre Canapas.

The idea of Ubuntu is commonality, and it’s not a huge surprise that this album strives towards the pan-African. The end result is actually more pan-Southern African, although his guests provide very occasional influences from more northerly climes such as Uganda and the Mandé region.

Quite a few of the tracks here are very repetitive – and not in a trancey, circular fashion that drags you in, either. These include the opener 'Bantu Biko', which repeats the same few lines for more than four minutes and is not the best advertisement for the rest of the album. The repetition comes back with the obligatory song to Nelson Mandela, 'Mandela Afrika', a self-consciously ‘epic’ sounding track that feels a bit cheesy and out-of-place.

However, despite a few weak tracks, there are definite highlights on the album that do redeem to some degree. The maskandi-with-mbira 'Langa Ola' and the dripping-with-blues 'Phalisa', both featuring the 12-string goodness of guitarist Nthombi Thongo are prime examples, and the Derek Gripper-led 'Ukuzu kwe Langa' is particularly beautiful.

There are definitely more enjoyable tracks than not here, although there are quite a few pieces that seem less polished than they could be. It leads to an overall average-to-good album, which may stand up better to listening and downloading instead.