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THE BEES - She’s A Witch (Tikoloshi)
Afrosynth Records AFS042Little-known trio The Bees consisted of Dominic Coka, Solomon Phiri and Anthony Sibanda. Their 1988 album She’s A Witch (Tikoloshi) features six dancefloor-ready, distinctively...
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OBED NGOBENI & the Kurhula Sisters - Ta Duma
Afrosynth Records AFS040Obed Ngobeni and his backing singers the Kurhula Sisters were among the originators of Shangaan Disco, a genre that helped shape South Africa’s ‘bubblegum’ sound of the 80s.The...
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KAMAZU - Korobela
Afrosynth Records AFS043Amidst the madness of apartheid, South Africa’s music industry in the 1980s propelled artists quickly to stardom, often at a young age. Some dwindled at the prospect of newfound...
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ADAYE - Turn It Up
AFS038South African disco 12” originally released in 1983, the start of the country’s ‘bubblegum’ era. Adaye was a once-off studio project featuring members of Stimela, the SA supergroup formerly known...
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CHICCO - I Need Some Money / We Can Dance
AFS048Soweto-born Sello Twala emerged as a key figure in South Africa’s bubblegum scene, initially cutting his teeth in the early 80s as part of groups Umoja, Harari and Image, who in 1985 released the...
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NEW HORIZONS: Young Stars of SA Jazz
AFS049South Africa’s jazz scene today is a vibrant one brimming with young talent. Several have emerged as bandleaders and composers, while at the same time being members of their contemporaries’...
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CONDRY ZIQUBU - Gorilla Man
AFS047Four tracks by one of the biggest names in South African disco: Condry Ziqubu. A regular on the local soul scene since the late 1960s in groups such as The Flaming Souls, The Anchors and The...
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CAPTIN MOSEZ - Fly Cherry Fly
AFS046Obscure and until now very expensive South African disco 12” reissued for the first time. In 1985 a young musician named Moses Mafiri walked into EMI Studios in Johannesburg. Working with Selwyn...
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NEW HORIZONS: Young Stars of SA Jazz Vol.2
AFS051 Following a definitive first volume jam-packed with forward-thinking musical talent working in the South African creative improvised music idiom, New Horizons returns with a fresh iteration of...
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PAT SHANGE (1956-2021)
“Music is my love, you know. I’ve got passion for music. So I think I know all the aspects of music. You talk about recordings, you talk about performances, you talk about media. You talk about...
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STEVE KEKANA (1958-2021)
“From the beginning, I felt I am a musician and I must appeal to everybody.” – Steve KekanaSteve Kekana passed away on Tuesday 1 July at Polokwane Provincial Hospital in Limpopo due to Covid-19...
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AYANDA SIKADE - Umakhulu
AFS052One of South African jazz’s most in-demand and respected drummers, Ayanda Sikade returns with Umakhulu, his long-awaited sophomore release as a bandleader and the follow-up to his 2018 debut...
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RICHARD MITCHELL (RIP)
Photo: Facebook"What's kept me going is the technology. I love the technology. And the changes. I really embrace that." - Richard MitchellOne of the key South African engineers and producers of the...
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E & S BROTHERS - Taduma
AFS053E & S Brothers’ 1985 album Taduma holds a unique yet overlooked place in the history of South African dance music. When Shadrack Ndlovu and Ernest Segeel teamed up with Dane Stevenson, owner...
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SOX (RIP)
"I used to sing at nightclubs to survive, those years in the 80s" - SoxDaniel Phakoe, better known as ‘Sox’, passed away on April 28 2022 after a long illness. Sox started his music career as a drummer...
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STARLIGHT - Starlight
AFS054 South African production duo of Emil Zoghby and John Galanakis were responsible for a string of high-quality disco singles in the early 80s, typically cover versions of international hits —...
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JOHN GALANAKIS interview
John GalanakisJohn Galanakis was a hugely influential South African label head, producer (of the soon-to-be reissued Starlight with the late Emil Zoghby, among many others) and musician. The following...
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CITI EXPRESS – Living for the City
AFS055Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry. Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott...
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RONNIE ROBOT interview
The following is a phone interview with Ron Friedman, aka Ronnie Robot, founder of On Record, on 8/2/2023 about Citi Express - Living for the City (AFS055):[How did the On Record label come about,...
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