Well, not exactly new, but it may be to a lot of people on this board… Kwela is a whistle intensive, lively jazzy sounding type of music from South Africa. It all but died out after the 50’s, but is enjoying a resurgence of popularity.
Positively Testcard is a South London band which plays some great Kwela. They were live on BBC on 6/21 :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/akinsession.shtml
The band is sending me a copy of their latest CD, and I will write a review either here or the main C&F site when I have had a chance to check it out. I have their earlier 5 cut CD, and it’s great. Definitely check them out for a different approach to whistle playing.
hi brewer,pleased you cought the bands’ session,wasn’t it great! for those that didn’t hear it- dave woodhead was interviewed by andy kershaw between tunes,and gave a brief overview of kwela- he also mentioned how hoener had flooded the south african market with whistles in the 40’s/50’s, and that these were the instrument of choice for many fine players.i,d love to get my hands on one,but unfortunatly they are no longer produced.dave played whistle,harmonica,trumpet and mandolin(mentioning the zulu string band ‘the royal players’ as an inspiration). incidentally, the radio 3 link brewer has given leads to a more in depth interview with dave,who also mentions that he leads kwela workshops,which have attracted whistle players from the irish tradition. have any london/home counties chiff and fipplers attended? if so please give feedback. for anyone interested,a search will bring up previous threads relating to kwela from this forums archives. ps; brewer(or anyone), on the 5 track cd cover,dave is playing a cylindrical whistle-any idea what make?
after posting the above, i re-checked the HOHNER listing in the cheap whistles guide(forgive my previous crap spelling!)i,m also currently listening to a really good cd album called ‘the history of township music’(wrasse records wrass 029)which covers the period 1939-1980,including tracks by 'the solven whistlers’and the kwela greats- kippie moeketsi and spokes mashiyane. recommended listening for anyone interested in the development of indigenous south african popular music( though kwela is represented by only a few tracks).
Hmmm…Interesting sound. I live in the Home counties (Kent) and have never heard this band. I will be on the lookout for workshops in the future! If I find any I will post it on the board.
Dave.
I have a theory why kwela whistle players place the fipple so far into their mouths and why Hohners are the whistle of choice. I think it has to do with micro tonality and that placing the aperture near the lips allows for good control of the pitch to get the microtones. I think the Hohner might be the whistle best suited to such control of the pitch. Is this what is going on? If no one knows, can someone ask a kwela musician to find out? If there is some easily definable reason why the Hohner is the instrument of choice, then someone needs to build a contemporary whistle along those lines before most of the Hohners are gone! If the factor is the ability to get microtones, then a Hohneresque whistle would have great utility in many different kinds of music, including Jazz.