Soda Studio to host ‘King of the Zulu Guitar‘ Madala Kunene 

The performance forms part of A Journey Into South African Sounds, an interactive digital series that kicked off in March with performances from Urban Village, Sun-El Musician and Ami Faku.

The series presents an array of musicians who represent South Africa’s many cultures, with Kunene’s six-decade career dissecting the length and breadth of the country’s modern musical story. He has shared the stage with fellow greats like Hugh Masekela, Winston Mankunku Ngozi and Busi Mholongo.

Although Kunene is often described as a mbaqanga or maskandi artist, his layered style transcends these genres by his highly experimental approach to jazz and folk standards.

“Music that is one-dimensional never connects with people,” the 70-year-old Kunene, who is best known for his 1995 debut album Kon’ko Man (Strong Man), says. “I grew up listening to a lot of Duke Ellington and The Beatles. Even then, I realised that this music was from elsewhere but that it also had bits and pieces and sounds that I could recognise from my own life. And that was liberating because it allowed me to merge things from different sounds that I liked, giving me ownership of that process.” This merger of sounds is something Kunene has dubbed ‘The Madalaline’.

Only 60 tickets are available for Kunene’s virtual concert, where viewers will be able to chat with the musician, send donations and interact with other fans at the show.

The concert starts at 8pm CAT (7pm CET) and tickets are available here.

For more information, visit the Soda Studio website.

Listen to Madala Kunene on Spotify.