SOUNDTRACK: BLACK COFFEE-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #180 (March 11, 2021).
Black Coffee is such an excellent name. And yet the music he creates is nothing like what I was expecting.
Born in Durban and raised in the Eastern Cape in Mthatha, Black Coffee’s subculture of soulful … house music has always been about love. It’s a form of sonic escapism that provides a sanctuary for all beings, regardless of race, age, or gender. Therefore, it’s only fitting that Black Coffee rocks a tee embossed with “I Heart You” across his chest.
Black Coffee stands behind a big mixing board as he generates most of the sounds. Although next to him is Pansula on the drums. And Pansula is possibly the real star of this set, with his persistent and powerful rhythms.
Black Coffee, a figurehead of the global South African dance movement, is known for his undeniable DJ sets and AfroHouse anthems that (under normal circumstances) light up dancefloors around the world. He brings that same feeling to his Tiny Desk (home) concert, but with a unique configuration: live instrumentation.
Kicking off the set is “You Rock My World” featuring Soulstar, a classic dance joint from his Africa Rising album whose convergence of pulsating percussion, a calming melody, and the sultry vibes of Soulstar’s voice feels like a spiritual palette cleanser.
It starts with drums and drums and more drums from Pansula. Black Coffee’s samples provide most of the music with some fleshing out from Nduduzo on the keys. Then Godfrey Mntambo plays some sultry sax as the lead melody.
The backing singers (Musa Nhlapho, Sandisiwe Sishuba and Bonokuhle Nkala-Mtsweni) start cooing and then lead singer Soulstar sings.
“Flava” is up next with lead vocals from Una Rams and Tellaman. My favorite part comes at the end of each verse as Black Coffee thumps the bass and Pansula echoes with cymbals. The gentle keys on this track provide some nice high end amid all the bass.
“Flava” and “Wish You Were Here” come from his new LP, Subconsciously, whose litany of special guests — include Diplo and Pharrell.
“Wish You Were Here” is a bit more mellow and includes a much wider array of samples–guitars, flutes and crashing sounds. Singer Msaki has an Annie Lennox vibe and sounds really great. Nduduzo plays a jazzy piano solo as the song nears the end, which adds a fun new component to this house song.
[READ: March 31, 2021] “Real Food”
The September 3, 2007 issue of the New Yorker contained several essays by their writers about the subject “Family Dinner.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains that when she was little she hated garri, a food served for lunch every day except Sunday in her house. Her mother was concerned that she was not eating at all and sat with her to watch her eat the garri.
It was made in various ways, with different ingredients (primarily yams) but was always cooked, stirred or pounded in a mortar until it became a soft mash: “it was jokingly called ‘swallow,’ because one swallowed the morsels without chewing.” (more…)
