Madala Kunene & Sibusile Xaba (South Africa)

Bringing together the elder statesman of the Zulu guitar Madala Kunene and internationally acclaimed Sibusile Xaba, kwaNTU pulls two generations of South African guitar mastery into a single point of focus.

Under-represented on recordings outside of South Africa, Madala Kunene (b. 1951), the ‘King of the Zulu Guitar’, is revered as the greatest living master of the Zulu guitar tradition. Sibusile Xaba, whose collaboration with Mushroom Hour Half Hour reaches back to his first recording in 2017 (Open Letter To Adoniah/Unlearning), has garnered international acclaim for his unique voice and virtuoso guitar stylings, which bring together multiple South African guitar lineages in an original, spiritualised fusion.

Collaborating with Mushroom Hour and New Soil for kwaNTU, the two players come together to weave a filigree sonic fabric which reaches down to the heartwood of Zulu guitar music but moves resolutely outward, building on the past to create a deeply rooted statement about present conditions and future travels. kwaNTU – which can be roughly translated ‘the place of the life-spirit’ – is also conclave of teacher and student, as Xaba has been taught by Kunene for the last decade. Meditative, rich and sonically, kwaNTU finds these two musicians linking up within the inimitable space of sound and spirit that they share through Kunene’s teaching.

‘Before music, there is sound, and sound is like a common compartment…it's not restricted to particular people or particular geographic places, you know what I mean? It's sound. Everybody can hear it” - Xaba observes, speaking of Kunene’s unique approach to music.

“An intergenerational duo of musical shamans working in the grand lineage of Zulu guitar resonantly attuned to cosmologies and knowledge rhythms of the land.” Uhuru Phalafala

Madala Kunene is not just a musician; he is a musical shaman, weaving a tapestry of sound that captures Africa’s heart and the blues’ soul. His journey from Cato Manor to the global stage is a testament to the transformative power of music—a legacy that continues to resonate in the hearts of music lovers worldwide. Charismatic guitar savant Sibusile Xaba reframes maskandi and the avant garde into his own humanist manifesto.

Together, Madala Kunene and Sibusile Xaba form a beacon of authenticity—a rare fusion of tradition and innovation that speaks to the timeless and the now. Their collaboration is not just music; it’s a ritual, a conversation across generations, and a celebration of cultural continuity.

PRESS

“kwanTU is a beautiful listen, delicate and intricate and powerful. Deeper than that, though, the baton-passing that lends an extra sense of profundity – the passing forward and survival of tradition heard in real time.” - The Quietus (Best Folk Albums for Autumn)

“one of the most evocative and interesting "blues" albums to be released in 2025” - Qobuz (Best Albums of the Week)

“a beautifully expansive collection of interweaving, finger-picked melody, husky vocalisations from elder Kunene and thrumming hand percussion” - Ammar Kalia, - The Guardian (UK)

“Kunene and Xaba have gifted listeners with a gem” - The Vinyl District (Graded with "A")

"It’s an emotionally moving, immersive, and meditative sonic fabric – meant to be experienced as much as felt." - Guitar World

“This is folk music steeped in ancient wisdom, its tradition carried forward intact, offered anew without ever severing it from its time and place” - OkayAfrica

CONTACTS

Management and Bookings

Jess White

Akum Agency

E: jess@akumagency.com

M: +27 64 128 2045