Urban Village.

Format:

Video

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Africa.

Africans.

Social commentary.

Spirituality.

Musicians.

Folklore.

Cultural identity.

Soweto, Gauteng.

Local Subjects:

Africa.

Africans.

Social commentary.

Spirituality.

Musicians.

Folklore.

Cultural identity.

Soweto, Gauteng.

Genre:

Documentary

Physical Description:

1 online resource (40 minutes)

Place of Publication:

Paris, Ile-de-France : Qwest TV, 2020.

Language Note:

In English.

In French.

Original language in French.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

On the eve of the South Africa quartet’s Urban Village debut recording, this documentary explores the history and inspiration of the exciting and socially active quartet based in Soweto. With music interspersed throughout from Urban Villages’ album Udondolo (translation: “Walking Stick”), the video follows the band members (bassist Simangalis, guitarist Lerato, drummer Xolani and flute player Tubatsi) as they walk the dusty streets of the Soweto township and talk with their influential mentors, including church clergy, social activists and family members. Born in 2013 in the shadows of the fall of apartheid, Urban Village cooks up a rich meld of jazz, house, hip-hop, funk, pop and a variety of African folk styles, including the Zulu maskandi. Its music is a convergence of the spiritual, political resistance and pure joy. The end of the film shows the band setting up a makeshift outdoors club where fans come to “take a time out of the ongoing oppression” to dance “in the spirit of the songs.” One writer calls the band “a journey through all the colors of Soweto…a laboratory of music where the hopes of an entire people resonate. Dan Ouellette

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed July 15, 2024).