playing kwela music

Whistle
1

I was wondering if anyone here actually plays kwela music, and if they have any advice on how to go about it. I haven’t heard a whole lot of it, though what I have heard I adored, so it would be wonderful if someone could recommend some readily available recordings as well.

2

Hi Lilymaid,

I’ve started listening to and playing along to kwela CDs very recently. I have two CDs from “THe Positively Testcard” and two more traditional CDs on order through Amazon.

TPT’s Mick Woodhead plays on D, C and Bb whistles, so make sure you have those in your whistle collection.



Please check your private mails too..

3

Sorry to ask but What is Kwela Music ?

Cheers,

Nicolas.

4

It’s South African jive music played on pennywhistles, with one string bass & guitar accompaniment big in the 50s and 60’s.

For a fuller explanation, check:

http://journeytoforever.org/keith/keith_zc-kwela.html

http://www.ru.ac.za/affiliates/dsae/KWELA.HTML

http://www.safrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/culture/922564.htm

5

Also, I think if you do a search, you will come up with a couple of past threads that discussed some of the more famous performers.


All the Best, Tom

6

That’s true and there’s a lot of useful information there. But most of it relates to Kwela revival music rather than the original '50’s recordings. I mean by ‘revival’, contemporary recreations of the style. I’d love to know of a good way of obtaining reissue albums of the original stuff and I don’t think I found that in those threads. (Correct me someone if I’m wrong about that information not being there.)

As to the question about technique, I play pennywhistle jive but I wouldn’t call it Kwela. The reason is that there are whistle techniques specific to Kwela which I don’t know about and so don’t use. What I play is adapted to pennywhistle from the saxophone jive of the '60’s which replaced Kwela as the dominant instrumental music in the townships. It’s still loads of fun though.

Kwela was, almost certainly, the most popular style of pennywhistle music there ever has been. I would love to see it discussed on a regular basis on this board.

7

Hi Wombat,

King Kwela – Spokes Mashiyane (Audio CD - Gallo - 19 June, 2001)

Simanje-Manje & Kwela – Donald Kachamba’s Kwela Band (Audio CD - P.A.M. - 14 December, 1999)

I’ve ordered the above two CDs from Amazon. I believe these are modern recordings, but by original artists - so hopefully true to the original kwela style.

If you track down more contemporary recordings I’d be interested too. From what I’ve read, you can find occasional kwela whistle tracks on mixed collections of South African music, but not whole albums of kwela tracks.

8

Wombat: My apologies. Guess I didn’t get your question. Just trying to be helpful, but obviously wasn’t.

Didn’t mean to sound like a wiseguy or anything.


All the Best, Tom

9

Nothing to apologise about Tom. You were being very helpful. I just think that those threads might give someone the impression that we’d got to the heart of the music when I don’t think we did. But all the information adds up.

10

Wombat- :smiley:

All the Best

11

I was wondering if there was someone that did know more about that sort of thing. I’m ever so curious.

You’ve all given me enough information to get a start on it, though. Thank you very much. :slight_smile:

12

One technique, I believe, involves putting a lot more of the mouthpiece in the mouth than we are accustomed to do :astonished:

I think quite a few of us would like to know more about the original artists, their technique and to have access to reissues. A serious reissure program might not be far away. It would help a bit if we had a regular poster from south Africa who was into the music. Do we?

13

[Thread revival. - Mod]

I can play Kwela in my sleep. I can play stuff from the 50s and 60s which I have carried in my head all these years.

14

Here’s an interview on C&F with Dave Woodhead of The Positively Testcard:

http://www.chiffandfipple.com/cftestcard/testcard.html

See the “how-to” section at the end.

I highly recommend any and all of their recordings.

BTW-- try typing Kwela into Pandora-- they actually have some, including oldies. Thanks for reminding me to look!

15

Oh yes Kwela is nice and fun to listen

so you should listen to more of it

I can!
I have “collected” 32 Youtube Videos in a playlist have fun listening to kwela

p.s. just notice now that this is an old old thread, which was revivaled". I thought that i am answering a real question :open_mouth: