Watch Music In Africa's Vibrations concert

The event, which took place on Heritage Day in South Africa, was the conclusion of the MIAF’s 2020 Instrument Building Repair (IBR) programme. The show featured acclaimed musicians Pops Mohamed, Morena Leraba, Sibusile Xaba and Buhlebendalo.

Pops Mohamed kicked off the evening's programme with a sensual kora performance, which was followed by guitarist Xaba's percussion-laden set. Vocal powerhouse Buhlebendalo featured an all-female band in an enthralling presentation of her multi-layered sound fusing township soul, Afropop and poetic recitals. Morena Leraba concluded the intimate evening fusing famo-inspired chants with electronic music, dub, dark rock and subtle elements of hip hop in a highly energetic performance.

Additionally, the two-hour live stream featured short video messages from musicians from across the African continent, who spoke about the significance of employing traditional instruments in their craft, including Hope Masike (Zimbabwe), Matchume Zango (Mozambique) Msafiri Zawose (Tanzania), Mehdi Qamoum (Morocco) and Siti and the Band (Zanzibar).

The 2020 IBR programme trained 19 young participants to create the mbira and kamale ngoni traditional instruments during intensive workshop sessions in Johannesburg from 19 to 24 September. The sessions were facilitated by experienced instrument makers Farai Machingambi (mbira) and Joe Ntsako Makhanza (kamale ngoni).

The first iteration of the IBR project was held in South Africa in 2016 when participants from across Africa took part in a series of training sessions, where they were equipped with the skills to build their own instruments – namely the marimba, dulcimer guitar and umakhweyana.

The Music In Africa Instrument Building and Repair project is funded by the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). It is implemented in partnership with Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut and Kaya FM.