Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Ladysmith Black Mambazo arguably were bought to the attention of the wider world in 1986 when the sound of Paul Simon’s internationally acclaimed album Graceland was heard by an audience willing, desperate to investigate the muscle of music from a country and its indigenous people who had long been in the shade of popular recording; and yet as the listener takes in the beauty and exuberance of Thokozile Collective’s seriously cool self-titled debut album, that sound from the sizzling memory of Africa once lauded, marks a return to the ears as the U.K. based sextet roar into action with a Jazz beat legacy intact.

It is in the mix of nationality that the band excels, it is a colossal feat to collectivism that what comes from the influences of African, Canadian, European, and British union, speaks with a force of dramatic jazz intent, whilst also invoking the memory of what was to be a seminal moment in Western appreciation of a style of music that is thrilling and driven by love.

For Dan Somogyl, Rob Palmer, Terry Quinney, Jack Shaugnessy, Cheikh Diop, and Neil Evans, the sound is all, and for the listener it is a fundamental, essential code waiting to be cracked open and devoured, and from the first note of expression that comes from the opening track of Thokozile, the feast that awaits does much to satisfy the curiosity of how the combination of style works when thrust together without expectation, but with absolute style.

Across tracks such as Lonely Days, the brilliant Afro Quest, Secret Agent, Umtata, and Hound Cat, the blending of spirit is a knockout, it flows with fierce pride and independence, and each note, whilst cultivated and examined, plays as though as if released for the first time, as if the air is quivering with excitement at the mere thought of what beckons, what the future holds for a group willing to explore their inspiration as well as their own musical influences.

The art of the group dynamic is a pleasure to behold, and as Thokozile Collective ramp up their virtue and motivating music, so the listener comes to understand that collaborating with others from another place on the globe is paramount if you are to learn, to be conscious of playful illumination. A wonderful debut, Thokozile Collective are remarkable. Ian D. Hall