Ladysmith Black Mambazo Chillout Sessions CD

An adventurous move made by a number of remixers here. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the premier Zulu vocal group worldwide, specializes in their signature brand of a cappella works. On this album, though, a number of remixers add instrumental tracks to the backing of the old Ladysmith hits, adding something of an urban feel to it and bits of ambient and house here and there. Perhaps most noticeable is the work of Marc Woolford as the Soul Drummers here, providing half the tracks for the album. Also featured, though, are Temple of Sound (Count Dubulah and Neil Sparkes), Dumi Dhlamini, Concord Nkabinde, and Nicky Blumenfeld, all worthwhile mixers here. It's a laid-back affair on this album, with light keyboards and slick productions dominating the new versions. This is music specially engineered for a gathering of people, but carefully laid on the side of the line away from dance. It's ambient music at its best, and an interesting direction for Ladysmith to take. Pick it up for the new directions and listen to it repeatedly for the musical value. ~ Adam Greenberg

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Joseph Shabalala, Jockey Shabalala, Thulani Shabalala, Sibongiseni Lucas Shabalala, Thamsanqua Shabalala, Abednego Mazibuko, Russel Mthembu, Jabulane Dubazana, Msizi Shabalala.