Unaccompanied harmony singing is one of the great traditions of South African music, and The Soil have transformed the style with a bravely contemporary approach. A trio who began singing together at a Soweto high school, they mix township styles with soul, pop and hip-hop. Each plays a distinctive role, with Buhlebendalo Mda providing much of the powerful lead work, Ntsika Fana Ngxanga adding sturdy harmony lines, and his brother Luphindo “Master P” acting as a human beatbox. They constantly switch direction, from the cool, finger-clicking ballad Streets of Soweto to the township jive-rap fusion of Susan and the soulful We Are One. At times they sound like a slimmed-down, updated answer to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who join them for the rousing Hamba Uyosebenza. Like Ladysmith, they could be massively successful, but they must retain their African roots.
