Kwela: Difference between revisions
AndyFielding (talk | contribs) Suggestions for simplicity, style. I've gone out on a limb here and assumed that "kwela", being the name of a music style, is a common (not proper) noun, like "jazz" or "hip hop", and should be written in lower case. (There may be some confusion because WP article titles appear with an initial capital.) Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
→Origin: The article is called «kwela», not «khwela», and in none of the quoted sources the word «khwela» is used. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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The most common explanation for the word " |
The most common explanation for the word "kwela" is that it is taken from the [[Zulu language|Zulu]] for "climb", though in township slang it also referred to police vans, the "kwela-kwela". Thus, it could be an invitation to join the dance, as well as serving as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the [[shebeen]]s of the arrival of the police.<ref name="South African Music">{{Cite web |url=http://www.southafrica.info/about/arts/922564.htm |title=South African music: kwela. |access-date=2009-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020132524/http://www.southafrica.info/about/arts/922564.htm |archive-date=2011-10-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> White people, unaware of its meaning, then thought that it referred to the music when they heard people shouting "Here comes the kwela, kwela!" warning of the police's presence.<ref name=mg>{{cite news |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1997-11-07-tom-harks-back-again/ |title=Tom Hark’s back … again|date=7 November 1997 |work= Mail & Guardian |first=Glynis |last=O'Hara }}</ref> |
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Kwela music was influenced by blending the music of [[Music of Malawi|Malawian]] immigrants to South Africa with the local South African sounds.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8185971.stm Nikki Jecks, "Reviving Malawi's music heritage", BBC World Service, 6 August 2009.]</ref> In [[Chewa language|Chichewa]], " |
Kwela music was influenced by blending the music of [[Music of Malawi|Malawian]] immigrants to South Africa with the local South African sounds.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8185971.stm Nikki Jecks, "Reviving Malawi's music heritage", BBC World Service, 6 August 2009.]</ref> In [[Chewa language|Chichewa]], "kwela" has a similar meaning to the South African one: "to climb". The music was popularised in South Africa and then brought to Malawi, where contemporary Malawian artists have also begun producing kwela music.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk"/> |
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[[File:I-IV-I64-V.png|thumb|I-IV-I<math>{}^6_4</math>-V. {{audio|I-IV-I64-V.mid|Play}}]] |
[[File:I-IV-I64-V.png|thumb|I-IV-I<math>{}^6_4</math>-V. {{audio|I-IV-I64-V.mid|Play}}]] |
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Although it has been asserted that |
Although it has been asserted that kwela music exclusively uses the [[chord progression]] I-IV-I<math>{}^6_4</math>-V.,<ref>Manuel, Peter (1990). ''Popular Musics of the Non-Western World: An Introductory Survey'', p.11. {{ISBN|978-0-19-506334-9}}.</ref> others maintain that there is no specific kwela chord progression, or that I-IV-V-I and I-I-IV-V are particularly prevalent.<ref>Allen, Lara (1999). "Kwela: the Structure and Sound of Pennywhistle Music", p.229. {{ISBN|1-85928-143-5}}.</ref> |
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==Artists== |
==Artists== |
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Revision as of 22:59, 4 December 2023
Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa[1] with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s.
The music has its roots in southern Africa but later adaptations of this and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to the albums A Swingin' Safari by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and Graceland by Paul Simon (1986)), giving modern South African music, particularly jazz, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger. The Piranha's 1980 UK Top Ten hit 'Tom Hark' was based on an earlier 1950's Kwela hit song.
One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is that it is cheap and portable, but it also lends itself as a solo or an ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may have been based on the fact that flutes of different kinds have long been traditional instruments among the peoples of the more northerly parts of South Africa and the pennywhistle thus enabled the swift adaptation of folk tunes into the new marabi-influenced music.
Origin
The most common explanation for the word "kwela" is that it is taken from the Zulu for "climb", though in township slang it also referred to police vans, the "kwela-kwela". Thus, it could be an invitation to join the dance, as well as serving as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the shebeens of the arrival of the police.[2] White people, unaware of its meaning, then thought that it referred to the music when they heard people shouting "Here comes the kwela, kwela!" warning of the police's presence.[3]
Kwela music was influenced by blending the music of Malawian immigrants to South Africa with the local South African sounds.[4] In Chichewa, "kwela" has a similar meaning to the South African one: "to climb". The music was popularised in South Africa and then brought to Malawi, where contemporary Malawian artists have also begun producing kwela music.[4]
Although it has been asserted that kwela music exclusively uses the chord progression I-IV-I-V.,[5] others maintain that there is no specific kwela chord progression, or that I-IV-V-I and I-I-IV-V are particularly prevalent.[6]
Artists
Artists such as Lemmy Mabaso were renowned for their pennywhistle skills, and Spokes Mashiyane was one of the most prominent with his kwela pennywhistle tunes.[2] Other artists include The Skylarks, Jack Lerole, Aaron Lerole, The Solven Whistlers, Kippie Moeketsi, Donald Kachamba and Gwigwi Mrwebe.
References
- ^ Brubeck, Darius (2003). Kwela, Allen. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.j617700.
- ^ a b "South African music: kwela". Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
- ^ O'Hara, Glynis (7 November 1997). "Tom Hark's back … again". Mail & Guardian.
- ^ a b Nikki Jecks, "Reviving Malawi's music heritage", BBC World Service, 6 August 2009.
- ^ Manuel, Peter (1990). Popular Musics of the Non-Western World: An Introductory Survey, p.11. ISBN 978-0-19-506334-9.
- ^ Allen, Lara (1999). "Kwela: the Structure and Sound of Pennywhistle Music", p.229. ISBN 1-85928-143-5.
Further reading
- Pennywhistle Kwela: a Musical, Historical and Sociopolitical Analysis. Lara V. Allen, MA (Natal-Durban). 1993.
- In Township Tonight! South Africa's Black City Music & Theatre. 2nd edition. David B. Coplan, The University of Chicago Press. 2008. ISBN 0-226-11567-4. pp. 190–99.