Interview: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
“Ladysmith” is the hometown of the Shabalala family; “Black” references the black oxen, considered to be the strongest on the farm; “Mambazo” is the Zulu word for “ax,” symbolic of the group’s ability to “chop down” the competition.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo not only sparked a world music revival when it appeared on Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album in 1986, but helped bring an end to the centuries-old practices of Apartheid in their native South Africa.
By that time, however, the band had been performing for more than 20 years. Inspired by the traditional music known as isicathamiya, a rhythmic a capella style born in the mines of South Africa, Joseph Shabalala put his first group together in 1960, but had difficulty explaining to people the kind of sound he wanted to create.
“In 1964, he had a dream about how to put the music and voices together,” said his cousin and band spokesman Albert Mazibuko, “but the singers still failed to learn all the techniques he wanted. They said it was too much. Most of the traditional songs only had a few words that were repeated over and over, but Joseph wanted to tell stories.
“So he came to us (his brothers and cousins) and said ‘Let’s re-form this group.’ ”
Part of the isicathamiya tradition was the fierce, but social, competitions that took place. The music was born in the mines where workers were taken by rail to work far away from their homes and their families.
On Saturday night, they would sing late into Sunday morning, calling themselves “Cothoza Mfana,” or “tip toe guys,” referring to the dance steps choreographed so as to not disturb the camp security guards. When miners returned to the homelands, the tradition returned with them.
The harmonies were very challenging, but the group got amazing reactions.
“People who heard us thought that we were very old but we were really very young,” Mazibuko said. “They said we didn’t sound like people and wondered if we were even human.”
Shabalala’s group won every competition they entered and were eventually banned from competition, although regularly invited to perform. They took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo: “Ladysmith” is the hometown of the Shabalala family; “Black” references the black oxen, considered to be the strongest on the farm; “Mambazo” is the Zulu word for “ax,” symbolic of the group’s ability to “chop down” the competition.
So they were already well-known in South Africa and on tour when they received a call from Paul Simon’s record company saying that Simon wanted to meet with them.
“We had heard ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ and we were very surprised that he would call us because our music was so different,” Mazibuko said. “Gospel would have made more sense.”
Cultural differences afflicted the first recording session.
“There were so many people trying to tell us what to do, it was very difficult and confusing,” Mazibuko said. “We finally called it a day and we went back to the hotel with a tape of Paul Simon playing the piano with the song we were to do.
“We went back to the hotel and prayed, then we practiced until we had to go back to the studio at 10 a.m. We said, ‘We’ve got something we want you to hear.’ ”
The result was “Homeless,” one of the songs that appeared on “Graceland” and it set the tone for the rest of the sessions.
Simon later produced Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s American debut album, “Shaka Zulu,” which won the 1987 Grammy Award for best folk recording.
The latest album, “The Long Walk to Freedom,” celebrates the band’s history by re-recording many of their most important songs, including tracks from “Graceland,” with a new slate of special guests such as Taj Mahal, Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLaughlin, Zap Mama and Emmylou Harris.
