Abavuki - Africa Got Soul

Cape Town meets Detroit

The sound of South Africa is distinctive, gentle, while Motown’s beat took the label to every dancefloor. To combine the two styles is an interesting and rewarding project.

With this new spin, Stand By Me is particularly enjoyable, with a beautiful female lead and massed choir backing, while Papa Was A Rolling Stone goes funky inna percussive style. Marvin’s Let’s Get It On has always been a dirge but, luckily, the Abavuki reworking adds a nice horn-line and a soul-wailing female to brighten up proceedings, as does their take on Grapevine, with a slinky beat and wobbly percussion. The stand-out, however, is the majestic Ain’t No Sunshine, which features a crisp production with horns and sympathetic backing vocals.

It’s not just Motown that gets the Abavuki treatment, as their biggest rival for the dancefloors, Atlantic, gets a few reconstructions, notably the grooves of Hold On, I’m Coming and Soul Man. The 70’s get a look in too, with such gems as William De Vaughn’s Be Thankful For What You Got, which receives a gentle treatment, while Shame Shame Shame heats up an already dance-round-thehandbags classic to leap-in-the- air proportions, so enthusiastic are the players.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Prestige Elite | CDSGP 1154

Reviewed by Michael de Koningh
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