Conceived in the Mushroom Hour Half Hour lab, SPAZA is a band with no permanent personnel. The movement originated from incredible talents from Johannesburg doing improvisational sets and workshops. SPAZA is their new album, an incredibly poignant, textured release full of enriching percussion, electronic tones and tribal singing that celebrates South African culture.
The 7 tracks on this album last 43 minutes, and are a whirlwind of emotive moments. The opener “Magwinya, Mangola neWhite Liver” is a gorgeous meditative track that brings hypnotic energy through gorgeous vocals throughout and a whole lot of drumming and percussion. This energy does not rest throughout the entire album, with rich compositions continuing to blossom. “Five Rand Airtime nama-eveready: 4000 degrees” features stellar tuba and scattered trombone that bring an eclectic energy to the record. The 13 minute piece develops into a beautiful melodic track from Gontse Makhene and Siya Makuzeni’s stellar vocals. “Ice Squinches (Waiting For You)” features electronic vocal effects and an unsettling groove that pulsates throughout. The percussion just keeps hitting hard, with tremendous energy that just keeps giving. The last track “Stametta Spuit” is an interesting one, with more electronic vocal effects added throughout, with percussion and slow synths that add texture to the music. It’s a beautiful and reflective way to end this intriguing and captivating body of work. SPAZA really spazzed on this album (pun intended, sorry).
Listen to SPAZA below via Bandcamp and don’t forget to support” Released via Mushroom Hour Half Hour.
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