Amampondo is a South African percussion ensemble that was started by Dizu Plaatjies in Langa,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 1979.Craig Harris
Artist Biography
AllMusic.com. The name in

Mpondo The Mpondo People or simply AmaMpondo, is one of the kingdoms in what is now the Eastern Cape.Mpondo people

means '' people of Mpondo'' or

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peop ...

, a kingdom in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

where most of the band's members grew up. The other founding members were Simpiwe Matole; Michael Ludonga; Mzwandile Qotoyi; Leo Mbizela and Mandla Lande. ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' called them "one of the most interesting and experimental groups in South Africa".

Origins

The group began as buskers on the streets of Cape Town. Under the guidance of their first manager, Bruce Gordon, they made their first professional recording, ''The Heartbeat of Africa - Uyandibiza,'' recorded live in Cape Town City Hall in 1983.'' Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music'' by Max Mojapelo, Sello Galane and Chris Walton (18 March 2009), African Books Collective Limited, . They later joined up with the owner of the Claremont Records label (formerly Graham Sound & Electronics), Donald Graham, who guided and advised them through the release of the next 2 albums.

Ambassadors of South African Music

They recorded an album entitled ''Give Praise Where Praise Is Deserved'' with Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

, and in 1988 Amampondo were asked to play at

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

's 70th birthday concert at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. This is fitting because, like Mandela, Amampondo are part of the

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

-speaking tribes of South Africa. They have taught and played the world over, from Israel to Japan to Scandinavia. Upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela promoted them as ambassadors of South African music, and later nominated them to represent their country at the opening ceremony of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia.

Marimbas

The band's marimbas come from Father David Dargie of St. Francis Church in Cape Town, and were produced in 1979 by Brother Kurt Huwiler who worked in Umtata for the Lumko Institute. They are tuned to both Mpondo and Afro-

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...

scales.

Leader's departure

The group continues to perform but without their former leader Dizu Plaatjies, who has started his own project entitled "Ibuyambo".Ibuyambo Website

Line-up (as of 2006)

*Simpiwe Matole - Soprano marimba, vocals, dance/acrobatics *Mzwandile Qotoyi - Bass & piccolo marimba, African drums, percussion, vocals, and dance *Michael 'Nkululeku' Ludonga - African drums, tenor marimba, vocals, dance *Mandla Lande - African drums, percussion (djembe/congas), vocals, dance/acrobatics *Blackie Zandisile Mbizela - Bass marimba, percussion, vocals, dance *Nondzondelelo Fancy Galada - Lead and backing vocals, percussion, dance *Mantombi Matotiyane - Lead and backing vocals, umrhumbhe, isitolotolo and dance *Dave Mxolise Mayekana * Risenga Makondo

Discography

*''Khawukhangele'' - 1982 *''Heartbeat of Africa 'Uyandibiza - Mountclare Productions - 1983 *''The Pulse of Africa'' - Mountclare Productions - 1989 *''An Image of Africa'' -

Mountain Records Mountain Records is a record label started in Cape Town, South Africa in 1980 by Patrick Lee-Thorp. The record label produces mostly South African music and is known as the home of Cape Jazz recordings, having issued a number of albums by such nam ...

AM242 - 1992 *''Intsholo'' - Mountain Records AM282 - 1996 *''Inyama'' - Mountain Records AM302 - 1997 *''Drums For Tomorrow'' - MELT 2000 BW096 - 1998 *''Vuyani'' - MELT 2000 BW 2143 - 2000 *''An Image of Africa - Live in Cape Town'' - Mountain Records DVD AM 4546 - 2007 *''Intsholo'' - Mountain Records re-issue - 2010 *''Langa Nights'' - Mountain Records - 2013 ;Collaborations *''Give Praise Where Praise Is Deserved'' with Archbishop

*''Shango'' -

Juno Reactor Juno Reactor is a multi-national musical and performing group, primarily based in Brighton, UK. Known for their cinematic fusion of electronic, global influences, and orchestral symphonic approach, collaborating with composer Don Davis and compo ...

- Electric Melt ELM8033 - 2000 *''The Call'' - Alan Skidmore - Provocateur Records - PVC 1081 - 2001 *''Ubizo'' - Alan Skidmore - Provocateur Records - PVC 1036 - 2003 *''I Exist Because of You'' -

Henrik Schwarz Henrik Schwarz (born 31 May 1972) is a German deep house and classical crossover producer and DJ from Bodensee, whose career began in the early 1990s. He has remixed music for numerous musicians, including Coldplay, Mary J. Blige, and Foals. In ...

- IV15 - 2008 *''Ku Kanjani EP'' - Âme & Amampondo - Innervisions - IV33 - 2011 * ''Nomabongo Electro'' - Amampondo feat. Murray Anderson - 2019

Notes

References

* * * * ''World Music: the Rough Guide: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'' by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham & Richard Trillo (1999) Rough Guides , * ''Gather into One: Praying and Singing Globally (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies Series)'' by C. Michael Hawn (2003) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, , * '' Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music'' by Max Mojapelo, Sello Galane and Chris Walton (18 Mar 2009) African Books Collective Limited {{DEFAULTSORT:Amampondo Musical groups from Cape Town