South African guitar maestro Sibusile Xaba releases debut LP ‘Unlearning/Open Letter to Adoniah’
Thursday May 24th 2018
Earlier this year, Sibusile Xaba unleashed his astonishing, spiritual sound through his debut double album ‘Unlearning/Open Letter to Adoniah’. Supported by expressive fingerpicking and hushed jazz chords, Xaba sings in Zulu with full commitment: mimicking his twangy acoustic guitar tone, laughing, declaiming and weeping over the tracks. Listen to the album below.
“This album is divided into two halves: An Open Letter to Adoniah is the more obviously “African” project, where Xaba is backed by the hand drums and androgynous-sounding harmonies of Thabang Tabane. The second disc, Unlearning, contains the real sonic surprises. Alongside Ariel Zamonsky’s slithering double bass and Bonolo Nkoane’s atmospheric brushed drums, Xaba invents a kind of weightless, free-floating global jazz that’s pitched somewhere between John Martyn’s Solid Air, Brazilian Tropicalia and the Violent Femmes. An astonishing debut from a unique talent.” - The Guardian
Sibusile Xaba’s performance at Le Guess Who? 2018 is curated by Shabaka Hutchings. This curated program also features o.a. King Ayisoba, BCUC, Ill Considered, Kojey Radical, and many more.
