Madala Kunene - Konko Man (Remastered) (2023)

After Madala Kunene and Airto Moreira worked closely on a couple of tracks during the 1994 Outernational Meltdown recordings in Johannesburg, Pops Mohamed called me to say that the Shades Choir from London was touring South Africa and that he wanted them to record some songs with Madala. A few weeks later the multi track analog tapes arrived in the UK during a recording session with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. they were so touched by the music that they asked to take the material to Santa Barbara for further production and overdubs. The track Konko Man (or Strong Man) has traveled the world and helped establishing a global fan base for Madala, this gentle Zulu man from Durban, South Africa we call the King Of The Zulu Guitar. Madala's many collaborations and remixes with the world of Electronica include UK Drum n'Bass outfit Smith and Mighty, Sa's Black Motion and DJ Kaliba.

Abangoma, Sani Bonani and Igwababa feature the amazing vocals of Busi Mhlongo from the times when Madala first introduced Busi to me during the recording sessions in Johannesburg in 1995.
Konko Man feature Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Jose Neto. Most tracks feature the late Malombo drummer legend Mabi Gabriel Thobejane. Robert Trunz 2023