Catalogue: Special Projects: "Soundtrip South Africa" - Various Artists - Soundtrip Series

Although the majority of the South African population belongs to various black ethnic groups, cultural influences and musical styles from colonization can be clearly recognized. Back in the 1950's, jazz music made its way to South Africa. When combined with rock'n'roll and swing, new forms like cape jazz and Marabi were born, while afro-jazz mixes in native sounds. Traditional percussion grooves and vocal styles blended with jazz and fusion can also be found in afro-pop. Whereas most songs were sung in Afrikaans or English during the Apartheid, black South Africans now tend to sing in their native languages, Zulu and Xhosa. During the 90's a new style of music related to hip hop was developed by the young black population in the townships. They dubbed it Kwaito. White musicians of South Africa usually avoid the traditional African music styles and stick close to European music culture. For this reason the choice of artists on this Soundtrip is mainly limited to internationally renowned black musicians.