This is therapy for South Africa’s stressed-out parents. It’s a plea for a return to some sort of innocence, a place where children play freely before being sung to sleep by mothers or, better still, grandmothers who are the harbingers of a comforting, ancient song.
A substantial booklet accompanies the album with generous space given to each track. It is here that one discovers the private memories of the contributors. Lucia Mthiyane’s mother was in a university choir and she recalls Hush Little Baby being hummed to her — now she has given it Zulu lyrics, making it her own.
When Neo Muyanga held his newborn niece in his arms he realised that his younger sister was no longer a child. He is photographed rowing his niece on Zoo Lake in Johannesburg. The album reflects the lived experience of ordinary folk.
Musicians such as Aveline Twala, Nana and Brother Clement Sithole grew up away from the big cities and their tracks recall a lost time of freedom from the cares of the present day. The Thula Project’s greatest value, then, is in the gentle way it reminds us of home values.
As Martin Machapa says of his adaptation of the traditional Ntyatyambo, “a lost baby is a child who does not feel a sense of culture, customs and identity”.
Bad Boys Blue: Around the World (David Gresham)
Didn’t these guys notice that Modern Talking are not at the top of the charts any more? There should be a law against this style of synthetic, senseless pop. They sound exactly like they did at the beginning of the Nineties, and even then they were, well, not quite Coldplay. Bland Boys Blew It, I say. — Riaan Wolmarans
Jamie Benson: My Confession (Sheer)
Pleasant but forced pop is to be found on the solo debut of this former member of girl group Hepburn, recorded with the help of Lenny Kravitz’s backing band. Maybe due to her pop group background, she comes across like a weak cross-pollination of Cyndi Lauper and Susannah Hoffs (and even sings one of Hoffs’s songs, No Other Day). Other songwriting credits include Bryan Adams and two tracks Benson co-wrote with Chesney Hawkes (so that’s what happened to him…). Benson also does a rather lazy and uninspired cover of Lisa Loeb’s hit Stay. She’s got a good voice — now she should work on getting stronger and more original material (maybe more of her own?). — RW
Various: Surge 2003 (Sheer)
He’s gained a loyal following on the local dance scene with his upbeat house sets (and his good looks, of course) and has become a fixture at most big Gauteng dance events. His latest CD is a good reflection of his no-holds-barred DJ style, kicking off with Junior Jack’s hyper-funky hit E Samba before smoothly mixing his way through the bouncing beats of Tomcraft, Kirsty Hawkshaw (yet another version of Fine Day — not a bad one, though), Yomanda and many more. On the second disc, it’s a self-congratulatory video montage of Surge at the decks and his dancing fans at a host of dance events, set to five pumping tracks — put it on a big screen at your next party. — RW