MOST music followers associate KwaZulu-Natal with mbaqanga or maskandi. More recently Durban had become the hotbed for house music.
But there is a group from that part of the world that is pursuing African pop with much resilience, though they have not hit big-time status as yet.
They call themselves Afrosoul - a trio comprising Sergeant Malishe, Sabelo Ngema and the only lady of the group, Thandeka Mkhize.
"The beat and the sound structure of our music are Afro-pop. We describe our music as such because that is the sound we chose. Our music has a lot of soul," Malishe says.
It took the group four years to find someone in the music industry who appreciated their music. Their prayers were answered when well-known producer DJ Tira turned their fortunes around.
"I met him while I was directing a theatrical musical and he later produced our first album," Ngema explains.
Their follow-up second album was released through the newly established KZN Music House, the brainchild of thespian and singer Mbongeni Ngema, the late Busi Mhlongo and Ladysmith Black Mambazo founding member Joseph Shabalala.
Their second album was titled Usemncane which, with a concerted promotional drive, proved the group could do well.
Malishe elaborates: "As we speak, the album has sold out because they produced a few copies and we don't know when they are going to do more. But we are proud that the first batch has sold out."
Ngema says the group will embark on a promotional campaign to ensure that their music reaches the masses.
"It is a fact that our music is not as popular as kwaito or house, but we are still committed to this genre because we are not in it for the money. It is our passion.
"At the moment we are doing free shows but we make sure that we are not regarded as second grade. We are also doing a few radio interviews to reach people out there. So, yes, we are not sitting on our bums and doing nothing about it," he says.
The group met in 2001 as students at the Mbongeni Ngema Academy for aspirant dancers, singers and actors.
"We were not necessarily singers. I was a dancer, but when I befriended the others in the band the singing began," Ngema says. "We all discovered that we can sing and formed a group in 2002. The learning curve of our first demo was that year.
"We write the music ourselves, mostly in isiZulu and isiXhosa. We write as a group but the verses we do individually and then we gather to workshop as a group," Ngema says.
Afrosoul innovate
MOST music followers associate KwaZulu-Natal with mbaqanga or maskandi. More recently Durban had become the hotbed for house music.
But there is a group from that part of the world that is pursuing African pop with much resilience, though they have not hit big-time status as yet.
They call themselves Afrosoul - a trio comprising Sergeant Malishe, Sabelo Ngema and the only lady of the group, Thandeka Mkhize.
"The beat and the sound structure of our music are Afro-pop. We describe our music as such because that is the sound we chose. Our music has a lot of soul," Malishe says.
It took the group four years to find someone in the music industry who appreciated their music. Their prayers were answered when well-known producer DJ Tira turned their fortunes around.
"I met him while I was directing a theatrical musical and he later produced our first album," Ngema explains.
Their follow-up second album was released through the newly established KZN Music House, the brainchild of thespian and singer Mbongeni Ngema, the late Busi Mhlongo and Ladysmith Black Mambazo founding member Joseph Shabalala.
Their second album was titled Usemncane which, with a concerted promotional drive, proved the group could do well.
Malishe elaborates: "As we speak, the album has sold out because they produced a few copies and we don't know when they are going to do more. But we are proud that the first batch has sold out."
Ngema says the group will embark on a promotional campaign to ensure that their music reaches the masses.
"It is a fact that our music is not as popular as kwaito or house, but we are still committed to this genre because we are not in it for the money. It is our passion.
"At the moment we are doing free shows but we make sure that we are not regarded as second grade. We are also doing a few radio interviews to reach people out there. So, yes, we are not sitting on our bums and doing nothing about it," he says.
The group met in 2001 as students at the Mbongeni Ngema Academy for aspirant dancers, singers and actors.
"We were not necessarily singers. I was a dancer, but when I befriended the others in the band the singing began," Ngema says. "We all discovered that we can sing and formed a group in 2002. The learning curve of our first demo was that year.
"We write the music ourselves, mostly in isiZulu and isiXhosa. We write as a group but the verses we do individually and then we gather to workshop as a group," Ngema says.