seven days of the soil

Gather around and let The Queen Mother tell you the story of how Kasi Soul came into being.

Jazz, the mother of all music, was aging gracefully but, she was worried that her teachings would die along with those who truly understood her wisdom and the essence of music. Her concern peaked when she witnessed the death of her eldest messengers; the likes of Miriam Makeba, Jabu Khanyile and countless others.

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"Mother Jazz looked down at the children of the world with pathos and prayed that one day the original beat of the music might be brought back"
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She looked at her off-spring; soul, hip-hop, poetry, r'nb, afro-pop and the dubious deep house which were trying their utmost to preserve her teachings. But the black sheep of the family, commercial house, consistently undermined her wise teachings. With its hypnotic beats and, oftentimes, derogatory content the widely popular offspring captivated and misled millions of people who did not understand that music is meant to elevate consciousness and heal ailing souls. Instead the mass of gyrating bodies entranced by the music were left uninspired and the void in their hearts just kept growing which lead to the brewing of more meaningless music.
Mother Jazz looked down at the children of the world with pathos and prayed that one day the original beat of the music might be brought back.
And then God saw how miserable mother Jazz was and how deprived her offspring had become, thus he said in his magnificent voice: “Let there be The Soil”.

It was not long before 20 musical youths emerged; singing and beat boxing as if their lives depended on it. They came together while cleaning the windows, sweeping and mopping the floors of Tetelo Secondary School every Friday afternoon.
Shortly thereafter, like a blossoming flower, the group shed its many layers and soon only four were left; with the Creator of Heaven and Earth forming the first member of the a capella group.

“Oh, now that there are only the three of us left what shall we call ourselves,” they asked one another, perturbed because the names they came up with did not wholly encompass their particular genre of music. Having had a moment of clarity, they realized that they were made from the soil. When they went to bed that night the idea began to germinate in their minds.
“When morning came we woke up and literally had The Soil buzzing in our head space for the whole day, it came to us in the same fashion that all our songs are given to us.”

And so in the summer of 2004, The Soil took it a step further and sacrificed their school holidays for more rehearsals and the perfection of their art.
That was the time that Kasi Soul was born.

At first glance there is nothing that says “musician” about this trio, which is why when I first met with them dressed in their matching black and white; I figured they were just high school kids looking to pitch a story about a project they were involved in. I admit though that I could not shake the thought of them looking remarkably older than any scholars I’d ever met.

Today the trio consists of one female; Buhlebendalo Mda, who is a sensual and harmonic vocalist who alternates between alto and soprano giving  Kasi Soul an alluring and deeply soulful element.
Luphindo Ngxanga, the human instrument, complements their style of music with a superbly warm base and haunting beat boxing.
And Ntsika Ngxanga adds a raw urban mix of cultural undertones with his alto and tenor.

They are a group of warm and humble beings with an amazingly playful personality. Buhle is quick to point out her distaste for people who treat her like a celebrity. Phindo on the other hand holds an extreme dislike for those who find amusement in the mockery of others for the sake of impressing him, while Ntsika detests people who pepper otherwise good conversations with profanity.
I was not alarmed, once I had recovered my foot from my mouth having misplaced such talent at first glance, to see how human these three are. There is no pretence to them. No sign of a prima donna lurking anywhere around them. It is The Soil and their art. They have a message to deliver, and although the medium has been fine tuned into a natural orchestra of sound, nothing is lost. In fact, these messengers have breathed their own life into the message.