WOMAD

Sam Tshabalala

From South Africa

Back in its darker-than-dark apartheid years in the 1980s, one of South Africa’s more notable musical exports were the Malopoets, a bunch of young twentysomethings whose candid and critical take on the white regime led to several members choosing to live in exile in France. One was singer/guitarist Sam Tshabalala who, in the years since the Malopoets chose different directions, has remained in Paris where he’s linked up with other exiled musicians from across the African continent – his current band, The Sam Tshabalala Project, includes musicians from Cameroon and Côte D’Ivoire. Exile hasn’t diminished his love for South Africa though. His latest album, Meadowlands, is instantly redolent of his homeland with Sam not only singing in a variety of local languages but also singing of the most grave issues facing the country today. Heavy subjects but, in Sam’s care, these are songs of hope and optimism.