Indumiso YabeNguni

Ntuthuko Ndebele – aka Mthuthu – began setting his lyrics to house music in collaboration with various South African DJs some two decades ago but has come a long way since then to make profoundly spiritual music steeped in ancestral Nguni folk traditions but given a thoroughly modern makeover. There are uplifting echoes of Ladysmith Black Mambazo here but the vocals are more soulful while tasteful synths and tinkling keyboards provide a cinematic soundbed that sits at the best end of Afro-pop. Zulu chants are woven seamlessly into the mix and an impressive roster of guests lend a hand, including the veteran Pops Mohamed with his panoply of traditional acoustic instruments, Zulu guitar legend Madala Kunene on ‘uMagwaza’ and ‘Bambanani’, and Zimbini, who emerges as a cross between a South African Enya and the Zulu kingdom’s answer to Adele on ‘Umthandazo kaMama’. At its best, Indumiso YabeNguni is sublime music-making that understands and honours tradition but does so with a startlingly contemporary resonance.