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Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O: True Story review – emotive South African jazz with a bite
The latest album by Jiyane, of collective Spaza, wades into darker territory to reflect the reality of poverty in the country
Harking back to the country’s popular jazz pioneers in the mid-tempo, melodically rich work of Abdullah Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela, Jiyane’s 2021 debut Umdali found its strengths in subtlety, building bright, emotive soundscapes from group vocals, horn fanfares and undulating rhythms. Opener Memory Is the Weapon sets the tone with its spatters of rain sounds, piano dirge and synthesised yearning vocalisations, while Global Warming develops the motif through drummer Lungile Kunene’s loose groove and Nosisi Ngakane’s echoing, operatic backing vocals. Gqom pioneer DJ Lag ’s second album, The Rebellion (Black Major), polishes his genre’s distinctly raw, bass-heavy sound in favour of sparkling synths to produce an uneven collection of commercial tracks cut with gems such as the menacing Ubhiya.
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