World Music Network

Born of the Zulu experience of labour migrancy, maskanda is a musical dance style dominated by lush acoustic guitar ‘picking’ and distinctive rhythms. Born in 1953 in Umzinto, on KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast, Shiyani Ngcobo has been a maskanda musician for more than thirty years. The winner of numerous maskanda awards, his use of a mixture of the rhythmic patterns associated with its different styles has earned him a reputation in South Africa as something of a maskanda maestro. This album captures how he has remained true to the aesthetic of early maskanda, while at the same time nurturing his own individual style.

**** (four stars) 'Simply magnificent.' Songlines