Gallo Vault Sessions

Music Through Transition

KONJO — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 03:00:00 +0200

This is the sixth and final episode of the first season of Gallo Vault Sessions: A podcast in collaboration with KONJO.

In this episode we think through South African music through transition; both the transition in South Africa’s socio-political landscape, but also how the sounds and music-technologies within South Africa’s music industry evolved along with the shifts in the country in the early 90s and early 2000s. We return to our conversations with Antos Stella & Dr Sipho Sithole, and also hear from esteemed songstress, Simphiwe Dana & writer, producer and performer Don Laka who has been in the music industry for 50 years!

Gallo Vault Sessions in collaboration with KONJO

You can listen to our specially KONJO curated mix by Nombuso Mathibela @nombusomathibela , which follows South African music through transition here.

Talking points: 1995 rugby World Cup, 1985 Concert in the Park, Umoja, Kalawa Jazzme, kwaito, bubblegum, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, synthesiser, drum machine, South African Music Awards, Arabi Mocheke, Peter Makarube, isipitori, Boom Shaka, Simphiwe Dana, Johannesburg’s underground scene, Malombo, Thandiswa Mazwai

Guests: Antos Stella, Don Laka, Simphiwe Dana & Sipho Sithole

Narrator: Kineta Kunutu

Writer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Producer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Researcher: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Artwork: PR$DNT HONEY

Production support: The Good People

South African Music Goes Global

KONJO — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 01:00:00 +0200

In the fifth episode of Gallo Vault Sessions, we follow the ways South African music has proliferated across the international stage, and trace a few Gallo-affiliated artists as they and their music traversed the globe! We charter a flight with the music of Lucky Dube, Ray Phiri, Solomon Linda, and more…and explore both the highs and lows of what it means for South African music and artists to contend with international audiences and global success. We also tease out different moments of both cultural exploitation and cultural appreciation in this landscape as we begin to wrap up the first season of the Gallo Vault Sessions podcast. We consider Paul Simon’s Graceland, sync deals with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and even learn about champeta sound system culture on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

We return to our conversations with Bra Lulu Masilela from The Boyoyo Boys & Mam Hilda Tloubatla, from The Mahotella Queens — both of whom we met in our previous episode, as well as former Gallo Managing Directors Antos Stella and Ivor Haarburger, and also meet two new voices, Edna Martinez, a DJ from Colombia, and the incredibly prolific composer, producer and performer, Don Laka!

Gallo Vault Sessions in collaboration with KONJO

You can listen to our specially KONJO curated mix by Edna Martinez here, which takes us through the Gallo releases that made it into the pico sound systems in Colombia, and follows them with their Colombian champeta versions here.

Talking points:

Mbube, Dixie Kwankwa, cultural appropriation, touring, The Mahotella Queens, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, central Australia, France, Juluka, Heinz Baked Beans, Malcolm McClaren, The Boyoyo Boys, champed, picos, Palenque de Basilio, aboriginal desert reggae, Solomon Linda, Cartegena, Lucky Dube, izicholo

Guests: Lulu Masilela, Antos Stella, Ivor Harburger, Don Laka, Edna Martinez, Mike Swaratle & Hilda Tloubatla

Narrator: Kineta Kunutu

Writer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Producer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Researcher: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Artwork: PR$DNT HONEY

Production support: The Good People

Talent Scouts & In-House Producers

KONJO — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 01:00:00 +0200

In this fourth episode of Gallo Vault Sessions picks up on some threads from earlier in the season, and takes a look at some of the stories behind the talent scouts and in-house producers at the labels that would eventually fall under Gallo Music; the people behind so much of the music, and who in some ways had exceptional power to shape the sound of what we have come to associate with South Africa’s music.

Throughout this episode we will explore how the very structure of labels’ relying on talent scouts to help shape and package artists for the Black music market set up a situation where talent scouts became the very buffer zone between labels who profited off Black recorded music, and the artists who bore the brunt of industry exploitation and financial disregard. We touch on the legacies of producers Griffiths Motsieloa, Cuthbert Matumba, David Thekwane and Rupert Bopape.

We hear from legendary pennywhistler & organ jive player Bra Lulu Masilela from The Boyoyo Boys, Mam Hilda Tloubatla, the original soprano from The Mahotella Queens, as well as Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Bra Mikes Swaratle and Rob Allingham who you met in previous episodes.

Gallo Vault Sessions in collaboration with KONJO

You can listen to our specially KONJO curated all-vinyl mix by Naledi Chai from Fly Machine Sessions which explores music from some of the more prominent producers in SA music history here.

Talking points:

producers, Griffiths Motsieloa, Cuthbert Matumba, Rupert Bopape, David Thekwane, Hilda Tloubatla, Mahotella Queens, Makgona Tsohle Band, Izintombi ZesiManjemanje, Zacks Nkosi, royalties, exploitation, Booker T, penny whistles, label power dynamics, Dorothy Masuku, organ jive

Guests: Hilda Tloubatla, Lulu Masilela, Rob Allingham, Mike Swaratle, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse

Narrator: Kineta Kunutu

Writer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Producer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Researcher: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Artwork: PR$DNT HONEY

Production support: The Good People

Afrikanerdom: Dysfunction & Aspiration

KONJO — Thu, 26 May 2022 01:30:00 +0200

In this episode of Gallo Vault Sessions we take a look at Gallo Music’s Afrikaans language catalogue, and consider how the sound of whiteness and in particular, Afrikanerdom was a conscious construction by the SABC and by extension, the Broedebond. We will explore how music in particular was used as a means of forming Afrikaner conscience in the wake of the Anglo-Boer war, and how various musicians reacted against the Broedebond’s idea of what it meant to be a “good Afrikaner”.

To help us tell the story we chat with some new voices: musician and music historian, Schalk van der Merwe; critical whiteness studies scholar, Thandiwe Ntshinga; legacy artist, Anton Goosen, and of course Gallo Music’s resident archivist, Rob Allingham.

Gallo Vault Sessions in collaboration with KONJO

You can listen to our specially KONJO curated mix by musician, Abraham Mennen @abrahammennen, tracing his favourite Afrikaans language sounds here.

Talking points: radio bantu, SABC, ordentlikheid, Broedebond, boeremusiek, Die Briels, Anton Goosen, Anglo-Boer war, whiteness, concertina, nostalgia, apartheid, Musiek en Leriek, David de Lange, Nico Carstens, poor whites, The Bats, Voelfry movement, shifty records, Laurika Rauch, Johannes Kerkorrel, Goema, kaapse klopse, Ge Korsten, propaganda

Guests: Schalk van der Merwe, Thandiwe Ntshinga, Anton Goosen, Rob Allingham.

Narrator: Kineta Kunutu

Writer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Producer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Researcher: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Artwork: PR$DNT HONEY

Production support: The Good People

Radio, Race & Genre in South Africa

KONJO — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 03:00:00 +0200

In this episode of Gallo Vault Sessions we take a look at music’s role in the retribalisation project of the apartheid regime through the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s radio bantu, Gallo Music’s African music imprints, the impact this had on local conceptions of language, as well as what was deemed African music.

We’re joined by last month’s guests, Sipho Sithole, Antos Stella, Bra Mike Swaratle, Ivor Haarburger, and Rob Allingham, and also meet some new voices; renowned musician Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, and South African radio veteran, Shado Twala, who all help us understand how race and genre have functioned in South Africa’s music and radio history!

Gallo Vault Sessions in collaboration with KONJO

Talking points: radio bantu, SABC, Hugh Tracey, Phuzushukela, Maskandi, Mavuthela, African catalog, Harari, Oliver Mtukudzi, Pharanyana, Percy Sledge, skokiaan, Thomas Chauke, Radio Thohoyandou, Radio Zulu, Radio Metro, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, radio dramas, language, LM radio, Peter Gallo, radio banning

Listen to the all-vinyl mix exploring radio bantu and beyond, by Vusi Hlatywayo @el_metalo from Fly Machine Sessions @fly_machine_projects here

Guests: Shado Twala, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Rob Allingham, Mike Swaratlhe, Antos Stella, Ivor Haarburger & Sipho Sithole

Narrator: Kineta Kunutu

Writer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Producer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Researcher: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Artwork: PR$DNT HONEY

Production support: The Good People

95 years of Gallo Music

KONJO — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0200

In this episode of Gallo Vault Sessions we take a look at the story of Gallo Music as we celebrate Gallo Music’s 95th anniversary and learn about some of the key moments in South Africa’s recording industry history!

We’re joined by 5 people who have dedicated their lives to developing and understanding the South African music industry and its history, Rob Allingham, Mike Swaratlhe, Antos Stella, Ivor Haarburger & Sipho Sithole — all of whom have played a pivotal role in Gallo Music’s trajectory over the years.

Talking points: talent scouts, apartheid South Africa, Lucky Dube, Mahotella Queens, King Kong Musical, Sophiatown, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masikela, Dorothy Masuka, Stimela, Sharpeville Massacre, kwaito, Thandiswa Mazwai, Skwatta Kamp

Listen to the all-vinyl Gallo 95 Anniversary mix by Paul WaxOn here

Guests: Rob Allingham, Mike Swaratlhe, Antos Stella, Ivor Haarburger & Sipho Sithole

Narrator: Kineta Kunutu

Writer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Producer: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Researcher: Zara Julius @ KONJO

Production support: The Good People @ Between Productions

Gallo Vault Sessions: Season 1 trailer

KONJO — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 20:45:00 +0200

Gallo Vault Sessions podcast is a 6-part series brought to you by Gallo Music in collaboration with KONJO.

We delve into the story of Gallo Music, Africa’s largest and oldest recording company, and reflect on the ways music shapes culture, and how our culture has been shaped by music…both at the centre and periphery of Africa’s music history. We bridge 95 years of Gallo’s music history with KONJO’s passion for cultural storytelling and chat with artists, label executives, radio veterans and music thinkers as we explore the undercurrents, backstories and overlooked tapes from the Gallo Vault; from mbaqanga to soul, and also, provide you with a curated playlist to soundtrack each month.