The Bala
Brothers – Loyiso, Zwai and Phelo – are a household name in South Africa,
thrilling audiences with their fusion of operatically-trained voices, rich
harmonies and traditional South African melodies and rhythms. Overcoming
apartheid, the trio rose out of poverty on the strength of their musical talent
and broke the color barrier of the famous Drakensberg Boys' Choir, becoming its
first black members. For their self-titled debut album on Warner Classics, the
Brothers perform an inspiring live program of music ranging from The Lion King
to Paul Simon (with special guests The Drakensberg Boys' Choir), in their
hometown Johannesburg's Lyric Theatre.
Bala
Brothers will be released on CD and for download on March 3, 2015, with the DVD
and Blu-Ray following on March 24. The program will be part of a national PBS
special beginning on February 28.
Songs on
the album include the anthemic 'Circle of Life' from Elton John's score for The
Lion King, the Paul Simon hit 'Under African Skies,' from his seminal album
Graceland, their own Xhosa-language love song 'Masibuyelane,' and the album's
centerpiece: the anti-apartheid anthem '(Something Inside) So Strong,' a
performance made all the more powerful by the presence of Winnie Mandela in the
audience.
The Bala
Brothers were born in the Kwa-Nobuhle township under the rule of apartheid. In
1988, eldest brother Zwai became the first black member to join the
then-segregated Drakensberg Boys' Choir at the age of 12. Overcoming the
resistance of many of the white children and their parents, he persevered, and
later on the choir also welcomed his brothers, Loyiso and Phelo. Ultimately the
three gained acceptance through their strength of character and singing
talents, and their careers grew from there to the point where the Bala Brothers
thrilled an audience of 55,000 when they headlined a spectacular concert
tribute to Nelson Mandela in December 2013.
The Bala
Brothers will tour the U.S. in May 2015.
TRACKLISTING:
1.
CIRCLE OF LIFE (Elton John, Tim Rice)
2.
WEEPING (Dan Heymann)
3. GOING
HOME (traditional, arr. Michael Whalen)
4. HE
LIVES IN YOU (Lebohang Morake, Jay Rifkin, Mark Mancina)
5. UNDER
AFRICAN SKIES (Paul Simon)
6.
MASIBUYELANE (Loyiso & Zwai Bala)
7. NDIZE
(Mavo Solomon, Zwai Bala)
8.
SOMETHING INSIDE SO STRONG (Labi Siffre)
9. THE
CROSSING (Johnny Clegg)
10. GIRL
WITHOUT A NAME (Loyiso Bala)
11. AND
SO IT GOES (Billy Joel)
12. PATA
PATA (Jerry Ragovoy, Miriam Makeba)
13.
MEGURU (traditional, arr. Michael Whalen)
DVD
EXTRAS: YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE (R. Rodgers and O. Hammerstein II) and MARIA
(L. Bernstein / S. Sondheim)
www.BalaBrothers.com |
facebook.com/BalaBrothersMusic
| twitter.com/BalaBrothers
No comments:
Post a Comment