I first encountered Ashley Kgabo at his home recording studio located on the outskirts of Pretoria during the tougher moments of COVID lockdown. From the entrance, I could hear the entrancing guitar loop and steady beat of a four-four drum. Among the few people present were his mother, who was in the house, and the vocalist and songwriter Fakazile Nkosi. She was hanging out with a poet acquaintance of theirs while all waited upon Sibusile Xaba to return from grocery shopping at the supermarket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he finally did arrive, apples and water bottles and all manner of fresh produce in tow, he suggested that the session start. The loop had stopped playing and Ashley, who\u2019s also a deejay and collector extraordinaire, had been selecting rarities from his extensive vinyl collection to nice up the mood. By evening, there was a whole song done, and a wholesome meal cooked and served up courtesy of Sibusile. The song became \u201cUmdali\u201d off of Brownswood Recordings<\/a>\u2019 Indaba Is <\/em>(2021) release. It marked the maiden voyage for the duo on a recording made widely available to the general public, and featured Fakazile and Sibusile\u2019s long-time song sparring partner, Naftali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further encounters took place in the months that followed, such as the monthly music concerts facilitated by Sibusile which featured artists such as Madala Kunene and Msaki<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By February 2021, the duo had grown into a sizable collective consisting of musicians from the vibrant community of artists based in Pretoria. They were part of an engrossing programme at the PDX Jazz Festival\u2019s Joburg Weekender held at Joburg Theatre alongside The Brother Moves On and Thandi Ntuli. The bill had Sibusile Xaba written on it, but what we were met with was an outer-planetary exploration that made the folk musician we\u2019d become accustomed to look tame in comparison. Gone was the guitar. In its stead was a keyboard, synthesizers, two backing vocalists \u2013 Naftali and Fakazile \u2013 as well as two drummers. Watching the music come alive during soundcheck felt like an ancestral assault, but the enjoyable kind \u2013 the type that leaves one thoroughly fulfilled, thoroughly questioning, and very much ready to join the next revolutionary warfare. <\/p>\n\n\n\nTranscendental Moments<\/h5>\n\n\n\n