Dizu Plaatjies & The Ibuyambo Ensemble (45038895904)

Dizu Plaatjies (born 5 February 1959,

Lusikisiki Lusikisiki is a town in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rustling sound of reeds in the wind, named by the local Xhosa people. Lusikisiki is 45 kilometers ...

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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) is a

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 ...

musician best known for being the founder and former leader of the South African group,

Amampondo Amampondo is a South African percussion ensemble that was started by Dizu Plaatjies in Langa, Cape Town in 1979.Craig HarrisArtist Biography AllMusic.com. The name in Mpondo means '' people of Mpondo'' or Pondoland, a kingdom in the Eastern Cape ...

. He is a graduate of the South African College of Music,

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

where he lectures in

African Music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

. Plaatjies started the percussion group Amampondo during the late 1970s. The group began with making music on the streets, but achieved international fame in the 1980s. The climax for the group was performing at the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

during the

Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. Marking the forthcoming 70th birthday (18 July 1988) of the ...

. The stage was set for Amamondo to conquer the world, and they had already been booked for a world tour, but the anti-apartheid campaign in exile from South Africa banned their performances for the next four years. During these difficult years, he received support from the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n countries. Since leaving Amampondo Plaatjies has started a new ensemble called Ibuyambo.Ibuyambo Website
/ref> Dizu and the new group have presented numerous shows in a number of European countries, and perform regularly in South Africa. Plaatjies is the son of an African traditional healer and late lady teacher Ntombiza, has himself been initiated in the

/Pondo tribal tradition. His interest in African percussion music has taken him to numerous countries on the continent with the result that he now owns a substantial collection of handmade musical instruments from sub-Saharan Africa. His latest recordings, made for the label

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 ...

, are titled ''Ibuyambo'' (2005), ''African Kings'' (2008) and ''Ubuntu — The Common String'' (2015), and illustrate this knowledge and interest. The last two releases won him SAMA Awards. He was married to his partner Vuyo Mbewu on 27 September 2008. The couple have two children Ukwanda and Azile. Plaatjies has 4 children.

Selected discography

*''Ibuyambo'' (2003) *''African Kings'' (2008) *''Ubuntu — The Common String'' (2015)

References

External links

See featured artists

Music.org.za: Dizu Plaatjies

Cape Times

- French
Pole Sud
- French * http://www.dieburger.com/Stories/Entertainment/19.0.1358254563.aspx South African musicians Living people 1959 births South African College of Music alumni {{SouthAfrica-musician-stub