Kwela
Encyclopedia
Kwela is a happy, often pennywhistle-based, street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle
-like beat. It evolved from the marabi
sound and brought South Africa
n music to international prominence in the 1950s.
The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to both "A Swinging Safari" (album) by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and Graceland
by Paul Simon
(1986)) which gave modern South African music, particularly jazz
, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger.
One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flute
s of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the more northerly parts of South Africa, and the pennywhistle thus enabled the swift adaptation of folk tunes into the new marabi-influenced music.
for "get up", though in township slang it also referred to the police vans, the "kwela-kwela". Thus, it could be an invitation to join the dance, as well as serving as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the shebeen
s of the arrival of the police.
Kwela music was influened by blending the music of Malawian
immigrants to South Africa, together with the local sounds of South Africa. In chichewa, the word Kwela has a very similar meaning to the South African meaning: "to climb". The music was popularised in South Africa and then brought to Malawi where contemporary Malawian artists have also began producing Kwela music.
Kwela music exclusively uses the chord progression
I-IV-I
-V.
was one of the most prominent with his kwela pennywhistle tunes.
Other artists include
Skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
-like beat. It evolved from the marabi
Marabi
Marabi is an indigenous music that evolved in South Africa over the last century.The early part of the 20th century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Witwatersrand...
sound and brought South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n music to international prominence in the 1950s.
The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to both "A Swinging Safari" (album) by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and Graceland
Graceland (album)
Graceland was Paul Simon's highest charting album in the U.S. in over a decade, reaching #3 in the national Billboard charts, receiving a certification of 5× Platinum by the RIAA and eventually selling over 14 million copies, making it Simon's most commercially successful album...
by Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
(1986)) which gave modern South African music, particularly jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger.
One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the more northerly parts of South Africa, and the pennywhistle thus enabled the swift adaptation of folk tunes into the new marabi-influenced music.
Origin
The word "kwela" is taken from the ZuluZulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
for "get up", though in township slang it also referred to the police vans, the "kwela-kwela". Thus, it could be an invitation to join the dance, as well as serving as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the shebeen
Shebeen
A shebeen was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence.The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Scotland, Canada, the United States, England,...
s of the arrival of the police.
Kwela music was influened by blending the music of Malawian
Music of Malawi
Malawi music has historically been influenced through its triple cultural heritage . Malawians have long been travelers and migrant workers, and as a result, their music has spread across the African continent and blended with other music forms...
immigrants to South Africa, together with the local sounds of South Africa. In chichewa, the word Kwela has a very similar meaning to the South African meaning: "to climb". The music was popularised in South Africa and then brought to Malawi where contemporary Malawian artists have also began producing Kwela music.
Kwela music exclusively uses the chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
I-IV-I
-V.Artists
Artists such as Lemmy Mabaso were renowned for their pennywhistle skills, and Spokes MashiyaneSpokes Mashiyane
Born Vlakfontein , Pretoria 20th January, 1933. Died Baragwanath Hospital, cirrhosis of liver 9th February, 1972. Johannes "Spokes" Mashiyane was regarded as one of the greatest pennywhistle artists who graced the South African kwela music scene from the 1950s to the 1970s....
was one of the most prominent with his kwela pennywhistle tunes.
Other artists include
- Aaron “Big Voice Jack” LeroleJack LeroleAaron "Big Voice" Jack Lerole was a South African penny whistle player and singer, a leading performer in the kwela style of music in the 1950s, and best remembered in the UK as the leader of 'Elias and His Zig Zag Jive Flutes', who had an international hit in 1958 with "Tom...
External links
- Kwela at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- The Kwela Project - website about playing kwela
- Malawian roots of Kwela music -BBC