The Next Stop… Soweto series represents one of the widest-ranging compilation projects ever undertaken on South African music during the '60s and '70s. Compiled painstakingly by collectors Duncan Brooker and Francis Gooding with sleeve notes by leading South African writers David Coplan and Gwen Ansell, the three volumes provide a unique snapshot of South Africa's homegrown music scene under apartheid and the incredible diversity of sounds from the era.
On Volume 1, the series focuses on mbaqanga and township jive. Jazz had been a fixture in South African music since the '50s and jive (or mbaqanga) emerged a decade later combining rural Zulu music and harmony vocal styles with Western instrumentation - early stars like "groaner" Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde and the Mahotella Queens were key in developing a colourful, danceable sound. Volume 1 takes the accepted township jive template into fusions with jazz, gospel, rumba and funk.
Volume 2 visits 'Soultown'. Across South Africa, a small but healthy soul scene flourished with bands like The Movers adding marabi elements into their funk and early disco sound, The Klooks and the Anchors all directly inspired by US soul and R&B and the Hammond organ of Booker T and JimmySmith. From '69, a string of 3-minute blasts of energy surfaced on local labels like City Special, Soul Town, Atlantic City and Soul-Soul.
Volume 3 is a long overdue retrospective of the rich jazz scene happening in South Africa from the early '60s to mid '80s. While many major artists lived in exile abroad and furthered their careers globally, many of South Africa’s finest jazz players remained, performing under the strict Separate Amenities Act.
The album features South African jazz greats like saxophonist Dudu Pukwana and drummer Early Mabuza alongside the soul jazz grooves of The Heshoo Beshoo Group and artists creating unique fusions like Philip Tabane’s Malombo and Batsumi.
