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**The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto - Various Artists**
★★★★★

In 1985, as apartheid South Africa festered under international sanctions and cultural boycotts, a remarkable collection of recordings emerged that would forever change how the world heard African popular music. *The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto* wasn't just an album – it was a sonic Molotov cocktail hurled across continents, landing squarely in the lap of Western consciousness with the force of a revelation.

The story begins in the early 1980s when Trevor Herman, a London-based music enthusiast, began importing South African records through a network of contacts who smuggled vinyl out of the country. Working with Jumbo Vanrenen, a South African exile, Herman discovered a treasure trove of recordings that had been circulating in the townships for years, completely unknown to international audiences. These weren't protest songs in any conventional sense – they were something far more subversive: pure joy in the face of oppression, music so irrepressibly alive that it made apartheid's cultural isolation seem absurd.

The musical styles collected here represent the full spectrum of South African popular music circa 1980-85. Mbaqanga dominates – that elastic, bass-heavy sound that emerged from the marriage of traditional Zulu music and American jazz influences. The genre's characteristic "groaning" bass lines and call-and-response vocals create an almost hypnotic propulsion that makes Western pop seem positively anaemic by comparison. Alongside mbaqanga sits isicathamiya (the close-harmony style later popularised by Ladysmith Black Mambazo), mgqashiyo's driving rhythms, and the early stirrings of what would become known as Afropop.

The album opens with Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens' "Thokozile," a perfect introduction to the collection's aesthetic. Mahlathini's impossibly deep groaning vocals – earning him the nickname "The Lion of Soweto" – interlock with the Queens' crystalline harmonies over a rhythm section that seems to bounce rather than merely keep time. It's immediately apparent that this isn't world music as cultural tourism; this is popular music of the highest order that happens to come from another continent.

The Boyoyo Boys' "Puleng" might be the album's most immediately infectious track, built around a guitar riff that's simultaneously ancient and futuristic. The song's township jive rhythms create an irresistible momentum that influenced everyone from Vampire Weekend to Graceland-era Paul Simon. Speaking of Simon, his controversial 1986 album clearly owes a massive debt to this collection, though *The Indestructible Beat* presents these sounds in their original context rather than as exotic seasoning for Western pop.

Amaswazi Emvelo's "Siyabonga Jesu" demonstrates the collection's spiritual dimension, transforming Christian hymnal traditions through distinctly African musical sensibilities. The result is sacred music that feels genuinely transcendent rather than merely devotional. Meanwhile, the Soul Brothers' "Umoya" showcases mbaqanga at its most sophisticated, with interlocking guitar parts that create complex polyrhythmic patterns while maintaining an accessibility that never feels dumbed-down.

Perhaps most remarkably, tracks like Udokotela Shange Namajaha's "Woza Friday" capture the weekend euphoria of township nightlife with such vivacity that you can practically smell the beer and sweat. This isn't music about struggle – it's music that transcends struggle through sheer exuberance.

The album's impact was immediate and lasting. Upon release, it spent months on the UK independent charts and introduced terms like "mbaqanga" to the rock press lexicon. More importantly, it opened floodgates for African music in the West, paving the way for everything from the world music boom to the current Afrobeats explosion. Artists from Talking Heads to Vampire Weekend have cited it as transformative, while its influence can be heard in contemporary acts like Ezra Collective and Kokoroko.

Four decades later, *The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto* remains exactly that – indestructible. While some world music compilations feel dated or patronising, this collection's sheer musical quality ensures its continued relevance. These aren't museum pieces; they're living, breathing examples of popular music at its most vital. In an era when cultural authenticity is endlessly debated, here's a