It is not an act to show that across the borders, in other South African Development Community (SADC) countries, there is musical gold that those living in the golden city could also dig up.
The three guitarists, who have vastly different stage personas and musical styles, have found a following in South Africa. And it is the first time that they share a stage. Sure they have crossed paths — Baloi reminds Mtukudzi of a meeting in Australia, where both had gone to do shows at different venues.
Mtukudzi, the oldest of the three, is the high-energy performer. He has been known to do a four-hour extravaganza, carrying the audience along to his emotional highs. But it is not all ecstasy. The substance is sobering. “Every song has its story,” he says. “In my culture a song won’t be a song without a message. There is a song for every special occasion.”
And he is a messenger. “I remind people of the things they seem to forget. I tell them that there is no culture that is either superior or inferior; each is different and unique.” Mtukudzi’s songs tell of the social and cultural hassles and hopes of his native country and political activists have turned some into battle songs.
He regards the telling of such missives in song as his lifetime achievement and singing as a great adrenaline rush. “Being on stage is most fun, the real thing. Every show is unique and a good show involves the participation of all.” Once the rapport has been struck Mtukudzi gives all and can go on and on, enraptured, dancing, singing and doing his thing.
Bass guitarist Baloi is more relaxed. He regards his music as having no deeper social meaning. “It talks for itself,” he says. Yet it is not flippantly escapist. It enables one to be detached from the heavy and troubled concerns of this world and to be immersed in the pleasurable flow of life. His music has the joy and beauty that relaxes and releases.
“We must be as happy as possible. There is so much pain in the world, it is about time to have fun and enjoy the good things of life.”
A long-term South African resident, Baloi still keeps in touch with his native country — he returned from Mozambique only two weeks ago. He feels that though his roots are in Africa musically, he has become a citizen of the world. “I have absorbed a lot of other cultural expressions and incorporate much of the various streams into my work. Of course, I’ve got to give it structure and that is where my creativity and individuality come in.”
He strives to go beyond the bounds of cultural and political expressions and seeks to be universal. “We must strive for one world culture; that way the we will be alright. We must live with one another without reference to our own cultures and skin colour,” says Baloi.
Louis Mhlanga sounds like a self-conscious voice of Southern Africa, a sort of musical SADC. The melange of phrases that cascade into each other represent the range of traditions found in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. But he has avoided the pitfall of his sound being a mere pastiche.
It has an underlying Zimbabwean flavour. But it is not the masculine, thunderous and heavily vibrating sound of his compatriot Mtukudzi. Mhlanga’s is more subtle, elastic and easy — perhaps to allow for neighbourly co-existence with other sounds from the region.
“I could not think of doing anything in life [other] than music.”
Mtukudzi and Baloi could say likewise. And how Southern Africa has gained through their choices.
Catch the launch at the Civic Theatre Complex at 7.30pm on November 16. Book at Ticketweb.