Decomposing the keys of pianos and guitars - reaping what the tapping of feet have sowed.

The Soil



What do you get when you put together a female voice, a male voice, and a beat-box added to that combination? A composition of a 3-member acapella singing group whose unique voices do not bask in the comfort of having a musical instrument played - better known as The Soil. This group which happens to be from Soweto, Protea North (my hometown) does a pretty good job at delivering melodic, harmonious and organic music using just their voices.

When I first heard about the group, I thought okay, so these people use just their voices to create music with no instrument at all - how possible is that? I then heard their first single 'Baninzi' and knew from the second that nostalgic feeling grew inside of me that I had to get their album.

Their 13-track self-titled album is culturally rooted and talks about family, love, and faith. To me, listening to it felt like deja vu - it sounded like something I've heard before, but knew very well that I have never heard such music to my ears. It's been a long time since I have listened to an album and felt like playing all over again. That is what the effect of this album had on me - I played it again from the first song to the last. The likes of 'Sunday' and 'Iinkomo' are my favourite amongst many other tracks on the album. Cannot wait to hear from them... we need such artists who understand what music is about, and what feelings music should evoke - thumbs up to these guyz for doing that. This album is on point; I believe they are here to stay!

Until then,

One love.

Lee.