Various Artists – Sound City Joburg 1969-1981 (2xLP)

Various Artists' Soundcity Joburg - South Africa's Township Soul 1969-1981 surveys Johannesburg's township soul scene at a time when musicians were reshaping imported American soul and funk into something distinctly South African. Drawn from recordings made between 1969 and 1981, these 22 tracks reflect a scene that kept evolving under apartheid restrictions, police harassment, and pass and curfew laws, with artists still finding ways to collaborate, compete, and push the music forward.

What comes through here is the breadth of the sound. The compilation moves through soul grooves, jazz-inflected arrangements, dancefloor energy, reggae, disco and Afrobeat touches, showing why township soul worked less as a narrow genre than as a living umbrella for several local styles. Beat Set's "I Dig Soul" frames the set, while Dudu And The Big Time Boys, Philemon Hamole And Abafana Besimanje, Phillip Mallela with J.B. Express, and Reggie Msomi & His Jazz Africa help map out just how inventive the Johannesburg scene had become.

Released by Analog Africa, this set is clearly built as more than a playlist. The accompanying editorial work connects the music to its social and musical history, and the package includes rare photographs, vintage newspaper material, artist biographies, and other archival documents. For anyone curious about how Johannesburg musicians transformed global influences into a local language of their own, this is a vivid and genuinely useful introduction.

Features

• 2xLP
• Gatefold sleeve
• 16-page magazine-style booklet with rare photographs, vintage newspaper clippings, biographies, and archival material
• Mastered by Michael Graves
• Restoration by Jordan McLeod
• Digital download card