Camagwini - Emandulo

It's this freedom she invokes on opening ancestral prayer "The Chant" which maps the call to consciousness of a young African woman reconnecting with her Xhosa roots as an antidote to the spiritual bankruptcy of living in an era of booty and bling. "I call myself an ambassador of culture" explains Camagwini on the album's accompanying bonus documentary featurete. "I am a song myself. I believe that I am the voice of the ancestors". 

Cynics might want to gag over such an unapologetically spiritual statement, but Camagwini speaks from the heart. She's no wannabe Afro diva giving popular "wedding songs" some sort of fashionably hip world music makeover. She's a sanguine Sama-nominated songbird who fuses soul, jazz, maskandi, pop and traditional Xhosa folk into a distinctly contemporary South African sound she simply dubs "ethno soul". Relax. While Native Rhythm Records label boss Sipho Sithole may be eager to punt his sexy young star as "the first ethno-soul princess", there's way more substance to her style than any retro-Afro-consciousness brand building blurb might imply.

Initiating a cultural dialogue between her Xhosa roots and their contemporary relevance is the cornerstone of Camagwini's ancestral conversations throughout Emandulo (aka Ancient Times). "The album reflects those nuances, those reflective moments in life where you try to find your beginning, remembering people who came before you. I feel that I have a connection with the past; that I'm speaking for the past" she explained in an interview recently.

In an amnesiac age of hyper-consumerism where actual musical substance is too often subsumed by seasonally hip style, Camagwini's spontaneous soul celebrations are totally mesmerising. "Ndilinde Mngoma" and "Ntombi yeSilungu" are uncompromisingly spiritual socio-cultural sermons which declare that the revolution is still worth fighting for: as long as it's a spiritually funky one. It's this spiritual funk that extends throughout the seamless tapestry of soul, jazz, maskandi, and Afropolitan house ("Selinile" with Black Coffee) tunings which come together in an inspirationally soulful flow that reconnects Camagwini with the fertile legacy of musical 'ancestors' such as Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka, Suthukazi Arosi, Busi Mhlongo and Tu Nokwe.

Right, so she's pulling an Amandla Sister move then? Nope. An echo of Thandiswa's Afrobeat fire can be heard on the brass 'n reggae guitar groover "Lidal' Ithongo"; and the flame that ignites Simphiwe Dana's "One Love on Bantu Biko Street" consciousness is audible on sublime African jazz ballads such as "Babuyile" (featuring guitarist Kunle) and "Thula". But that ethno-soul flow is distinctly Camagwini's own. The former Sun Goddess fashion model bares her heart in conversation with guitarist Naughty Ntuli on lilting township jazzy jams ("iTshomi Zam") and locomotive maskandi celebrations ("Nthombi yeSilingu"). Later she soars over pianist Andile Yenana's pastroal key strokes on beatific folk ballads "UDokrawla" and "Thula", before finding comfort alongside Pops Mohamed's kora, mbira, and mouth bow on the gorgeous ambient African lullaby "uButhi Akaphilang".
 
And don't for a second presume that all this rootsy revisitation is some kind of nostalgic "Afro-primitivist" postcard  aimed at selling an 'exotic' Third World stereotype to tourists. "Thabo No Thabisa" is a sublimely smooth urban jazz ballad showcase where Camagwini's cool siren call, Kunle's deft Jimmy Dludlu styled guitar strums, Sphamandla Bhembe's muted trumpet tones, and even some classical keys and strings come together in a sensual quiet storm that's so sexy it deserves to be included on just about every listener's "Romantic Songs" iPod playlist. 

And let's not forget hipster Mzansi house producer Black Coffee who mainlines some serious Afropolitan chic into the mix with a meandering midtempo beat and maskandi guitar on "Selinile" (feat. Imithenthe's Dumisile Manana). Hell, by the time Pops Mohamed returns to thread his Afro-futuristic canvas of rain sticks, bird calls, mouth bows and other toys through the midtempo urban nights groover "Nonkonko" even the most jaundiced of Afro-soul ears will be rejuvenated.  

Those four bonus remastered renditions of key tracks off Zivile including "Ighawe", "African Woman", "Chosi Chosi", and "Imvumi" (and accompanying music video) make for a nifty introduction for the unitiated too.