Indaba Is

Before we even hit record, Siyabonga Mthembu is telling me a story.

It involves, in no particular order, a run in with London based jazz-wizard Shakaba Hutchings, a near clairvoyant café owner and a subway train filled with musicians, their instruments taking up more room than their bodies. Mthembu’s stories are like the music creates, sly, captivating and always on the edge.

Alongside composer Thandi Ntuli, Mthembu crafted the sprawling collective Indaba Is, a showcase of music from South Africa. Though often billed as a jazz release in media, the truth is much stranger. The collection deliriously bounces between post-rock, blues, gospel and Indian classical music as much as it does jazz. Both Ntuli and Mthembu are absolute in this—the scene is not homogenous. It is ever mutating, stranger (and more compelling) on each successive listen. We chatted with Mthembu and Ntuli below.

File under: Interviews