Afro fusion
Afro fusion is a dance and musical style that emerged between the 1970s and 2000s. In the same way as the dance style, the musical style invokes fusions of various regional and inter-continental musical cultures, such as jazz, hip hop, kwaito, reggae, soul, pop, kwela, blues, folk, rock and afrobeat.
Term and widespread usage
and Sylvia Glasser are the pioneering figures behind "Afrofusion," a contemporary African movement vocabulary and technique that emerged in response to the political changes following the near-end and end of the apartheid regime, a system of racial segregation that took place in South Africa from 1948 to 1991.After the musical style was globally popularized by Freshlyground and Shakira's Waka Waka , which showcased afrofusion and soca, the term "afro fusion" was increasingly used as a hypernym to refer to both historical and as present-day examples of African music blended with other genres, for instance, Western music. Some instances include, in 2015, John Collins described the musical style as "Afro-Fusion music of Africa itself" in his biography and music criticism book Fela: Kalakuta Notes. American rapper GoldLink's 2019 album, Diaspora, merged African, Caribbean and North American music, inclusive of a song titled, "Zulu Screams". "Zulu Screams" demonstrated Bibi Bourelly, a German singer-songwriter of Haitian and Moroccan descent, singing in Lingala alongside British-Nigerian musical artist Maleek Berry, who was described as an "afro-fusionist" by Pitchfork.
Dance style
Afro fusion as a dance style was pioneered by South African dancer-choreographer Sylvia Glasser between the1970s and 2000s. Glasser established The Sylvia Glasser Contemporary Dance Group in 1971. In 1978 Glasser co-founded an additional contemporary dance company, Moving into Dance, also known as "Moving into Dance Mophatong wa Thabo " alongside Maria Kint.
Sylvia Glasser's protégés include international contemporary dance household names inclusive of Gregory Maqoma and Vincent Mantsoe. Mantsoe was a part of the participants in the earliest groups that performed Glasser's historic "San trance" dancing work, Transformations. In the 1970s, afro fusion garnered mainstream popularity in African countries such as Zambia and Namibia. Somatic techniques such as release and Alexander Technique were developed and commixed with African dance styles like kwassa kwassa and pantsula'' resulting in the hybrid dance style.
Musical style
As a genre and musical compositional form, Afro fusion incorporates traditional African music, alternative music as well as Afropop, blending various genres in an experimental crossover-like style. Afrofusion songs often include vocals in a range of African languages alongside other languages such as Spanish, English and French. For example English, isiXhosa, Duala and Spanish in the multilingual song "Waka Waka".File:Miriam Makeba and Paul Simon, musicians gtfy.02537.jpg|alt=South African activist and singer, Miriam Makeba and American singer- songwriter Paul Simon.|thumb|259x259px|South African activist and singer, Miriam Makeba and American singer- songwriter Paul Simon.
The musical style's roots as well as music scenes can be traced as far back as before the 21st century. An early example was Stimela, a South African band formed in the 1970s by Ray Phiri. Phiri featured on Paul Simon's worldbeat Graceland album as a guitarist. Ray Phiri was renowned for fusing mbaqanga and jazz. Mbaqanga originated in South Africa in the early 1960s. The genre itself is a fusion of traditional Zulu music, jazz, European and American popular music. A significant portion of South African music in the 1950s originated from the intersection of American jazz, African American choral traditions and indigenous African folk music. The Manhattan Brothers were a widely acclaimed South African singing ensemble inclusive of Miriam Makeba between the 1940s and 1950s. The musical ensemble's musical style encompassed influences from American ragtime, jive, swing, doo-wop and various other jazz genres, along with African choral traditions and Zulu harmonies. Marabi evolved from makwaya which merged European hymnology with spirituals as well as close and open harmony between the 1890s to 1920s onwards, it incorporated a variety of elements such as jazz, ragtime, Pedi and Tswana bass music as well as keyboard adaptations of Xhosa folk melodies.
Hugh Masekela's career was characterized by his experiments with jazz and diverse ethnic African music within a pop framework. Miriam Makeba, renowned for chart-topping tracks such as "Pata Pata" and "The Click Song" distinguished herself through an innovative blend of jazz, traditional African music, traditional South African music and Western popular music, incorporating her native Xhosa language.
History
1970s–1980s
During the peak of apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s, many South African artists went into exile, which complicated documentation of their careers during that period.Sylvia Glasser's afrofusion arose from the combination of African music and ritual and incorporating Western contemporary dance forms into her choreography. Glasser initiated the company, Moving into Dance Mopha-tong during a period of heightened racial oppression and segregation. As an anthropologist, she was motivated to create contemporary dance rooted in an African context. Her vision of afrofusion, which additionally incorporated a modified Graham technique, became a cornerstone training method for South African dancers for many years. When Vincent Mantsoe assumed artistic leadership of MIDM, his exploration of Eastern dance forms and mysticism influenced a shift in technique and training. The company underwent further transformation when Gregory Maqoma took the helm, introducing his vision of post-modern African dance and steering the company in a new direction.
Stimela originated from the soul group, The Cannibals, established by Ray Phiri during the 1970s. Phiri, best known for his contributions on Paul Simon's albums Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. Having garnered a series of successful singles in South Africa, the band achieved notable success. In the early 1980s, Phiri collaborated with former members of The Cannibals to establish Stimela, an afro-fusion ensemble. Stimela fuses R&B and jazz with rhythmic elements of South African genres such as mbaqanga. Phiri led the band, taking on roles as guitarist, songwriter and often lead vocalist. Phiri sang in English and various other South African languages additionally the band recorded songs in the Malawian language, Chichewa, during a period when the apartheid regime, the recording industry and the South African Broadcasting Corporation were advocating for a policy of "retribalization", which promoted the idea that black music should be exclusively sung in one African language. Joy White served as the initial vocalist for Stimela. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Stimela's music occasionally confronted the boundaries of expression permissible under apartheid. Certain songs faced bans from airing on the state-controlled radio station, SABC, particularly "Whispers in the Deep" advocating for fearless expression, "Speak your mind. Don't be afraid." Additionally, a 1984, duet inclusive of a white singer, Katie Pennington, "Where Did We Go Wrong" faced rejection from radio stations for airplay. Despite radio restrictions, the band's 1986 album featuring the song, titled "Look, Listen and Decide" achieved significant commercial success, becoming a bestseller. Stimela's albums achieved gold and platinum status. The debut of Stimela occurred at a perfectly opportune moment, stepping in to fill the gap left by afrofusion band, Sakhile's sabbatical. Sankomota was an afrofusion band formed in the 1970s in Lesotho. They served as the resident band at Maseru's Victoria Hotel, entertaining notable figures like Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, who were in exile from South Africa due to their political views. Their breakthrough came in 1983 when South African producer Lloyd Ross from Shifty Records recorded their debut album, Sankomota and Frank Leepa's hit composition "It's Raining" was released. Subsequent albums were released under labels such as Gallo Record Company, and the band relocated to South Africa. Tsepo Tshola toured Southern Africa with Hugh Masekela and later traveled to London, where the rest of Sankomota joined him in 1985. Bassist Bakithi Khumalo and his cousin, drummer Vusi Khumalo, supplied rhythms for country and Western bands. The Khumalos then formed the band Theta. Another South African fusion band, Tananas, comprising Ian Herman, Steve Newman and Gito Baloi was formed in 1987. Baloi sang in Portuguese and Tsonga. Their music melded elements of jazz, country, Congolese rumba, rock, township jazz, ragtime, township jive, Mozambican salsa and Spanish Music. Tananas recorded with Gallo and Sony. Peace released their debut record and performed alongside Dollar Brand and Hugh Masekela. Collective, Night Cruiser performed in Zakes Mda's plays at the Space Theatre.
1990s
In 1991, Zap Mama released their debut album Adventures in Afropea 1. The polyphonic group comprised founder and leader Marie Daulne along with Sabine Kabongo, Sylvie Nawasadio, Cecilia Kankoda and Celine Thooft. They were influenced by their diverse European and African heritages in addition the cosmopolitan ambience of Brussels, their hometown. They crafted an a capella repertoire blending elements from Congolese pop and Arabic melodies as well as various other influences. During Daulne's time in America she fused soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae and Latin music among other genres. Daulne collaborated with a range of artists such as South African male a capella ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Americans actor and rapper Common and Michael Franti.As Nelson Mandela's release from prison and the end of minority-dominated white governance approached, Tsepo Tshola returned to South Africa from London and teamed up with Hugh Masekela for his homecoming Sekunjalo tour of South Africa in 1991.
In 1993, Tsepo Tshola released his debut solo album, The Village Pope a moniker that resonated well with fans and has remained associated with the songster ever since.
Grace Mpori Senne, together with her daughter Sandra Pheto established an all-women band named African Maroon. Senne was as an actor, author, director, dancer, researcher, percussionist and expert instructor with a focus on Southern African dance styles, namely gumboot dance. African Maroon showcased a diverse afro-fusion repertoire spanning jazz, mbaqanga and blues. While residing in Soweto in the 1960s, Senne was an engaged member of the African National Congress. Grace Senne's apprentices at the Community Dance Teachers Training Course included Vincent Mantsoe and Gregory Maqoma. Sylvia Glasser described Senne as "a living storehouse of knowledge of traditional African dance".
In 1994, Tananas released Orchestra Mundo which earned them the Best Jazz Performance award at the inaugural, South African Music Awards.
In 1997, Maqoma had earned a scholarship to attend a choreographic workshop at DanceWeb in Vienna, an experience that broadened his horizons. Choreographer Emio Greco had urged him to "push more, go for more," and had introduced him to improvisation.
In 1999, Greg Maqoma established The Vuyani Dance Theatre. The Vuyani Dance Theatre derives its name from Maqoma's Xhosa name, "Vuyani," which in English translates to "joy".