Emzini kaBaba

EMZINI kaBABA Patreon link in comments. Emzini KaBaba (Zulu for the home of my father) was recorded for my award winning China album in 2003. It was one of those sessions where everything aligned. The tune, the room and the musicians all carried the same energy. You should listen to the finished track because it holds the touch of two exceptional artists. Louis Mhlanga brought his mercurial guitar playing. Like me, born in Zimbabwe and shaped by the musical worlds of Harare and Johannesburg, he became one of Southern Africa’s most distinctive guitar voices. His work with Oliver Mtukudzi, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Vusi Mahlasela and the Mahotella Queens built a reputation for clarity, invention and an instinctive feel for ensemble playing. On Emzini keBaba, his lines move through the tune with that same effortless precision. Noise Khanyile arrived at the studio, listened once and asked to take a rough mix home so he could think about it. He returned the next day with his fiddle and a lyric he had shaped overnight. What he played and sang fitted the tune with uncanny accuracy. Noise Khanyile was one of South Africa’s great traditional musicians. He was a guitarist and violinist from KwaZulu Natal whose career stretched from the late 1950s through the height of the mbaqanga era. He recorded with the Boyoyo Boys, West Nkosi, Robert Bopape, the Mahotella Queens and the Jo’burg City Stars. His solo work included Grooving Jive No. 1 in 1986 and The Art of Noise in 1989. His playing carried the unmistakable township drive that defined so much of that period. Rhythmic, melodic and rooted in Zulu musical tradition. Having Louis and Noise on Emzini kaBaba was a privilege. Their contributions did not just support the tune. They shaped it. **Paid Patreon members receive full access to the entire archive: every album, every score, every story, every video, the unreleased material, the deep cuts, the collaborations, the press, the photos, the lot. You also get all new work as it arrives, plus guitar resources if you play, and the option for direct face‑to‑face sessions. It is the complete body of work, past and present.

Added 30 Sept 2026