Spectreview: dumama + kechou – buffering juju

dumama + kechou redraw the boundaries of South African folklore on their stunning experimental debut album.

-WITCH HAZE-

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First, the beauty. It hits you in the face from the moment Gugulethu Duma (“dumama” from South African experimental duo dumama + kechou) harmonizes in Xhosa chant over the hum of chirping insects and dry grass. The song, “leaving prison,” instantly becomes a teleportation device: no matter where you are, you are outside, and free. Then the track settles into an anxious buzz and the reality of the circumstances kicks in. What should be an ending is just a brief respite before the suffering resumes.

What a startlingly beautiful debut this record is. buffering juju, the duo’s first outing, pulses with the extremities of life’s spectrum: the pain of existing, and the sweetness that flows from that pain. It rumbles with Xhosa instrumentation and avant-garde jazz; it can seethe in a dance beat and soar like an owl in flight.

Close listening (and a little translation) might reveal an ambitious narrative through-line, one that juxtaposes fantastical South African folklore with the strife of national politics. But Duma isn’t afraid to challenge how South African folklore, and much of the folklore of its neighboring countries, is recitated under an archaic, patriarchal framework. In the album’s mythos, ancient beings are borne of feminine energy, male characters (like the husband of Makoti in “uveni” or the townspeople of “umzi”) are as tangential and one-dimensional as women often are in these tales. But Duma’s less a force of indignity than she is a course corrector, and there are solutions to the problems she illuminates. The “mhlekazi” her characters speak to in the darkly pulsing “for madala” (the honorific “mhlekazi” implies the embodiment of masculinity, perhaps any given South African ruler) is not chastised but instead saved from death and shown the error of his ways. In “khala zome” the man in turn becomes a mountain range that supports the community through the power of this spiritual mother. It’s an ultimately benevolent tale that feels a part of a general global movement away from patriarchy while simultaneously skewering how traditional values limits the growth of culture.

Sure, it’s certainly a high-minded concept that might not matter to many non-Xhosa speakers, but it’s met handily with the help of kechou’s (Kerim Malik Becker) diverse instrumental painting. He supplies percussion, strings, and synthesizer when needed, and his taste is exquisite: the steady percussive notes of the chitende soundtrack the prayers on “umzi”; hypnotic cascas click in time with Madala’s heavy steps on the gorgeous “wessi walking mama”; and of course, early-appearing found sounds creating the transportation on “leaving prison”. Meanwhile, he and Duma make sure to match these traditional acoustic instruments with playful synths and pads. The duo also brings on musical talent of both African and American descent to flesh out the proceedings, and it works wonders. Siya Makuzeni’s trombone adds a crucial sting to “wessi walking mama’s” low-bass groove, while Nobuhle Ashanti’s subtly menacing piano on “for madala” colors the chaos surrounding “mhlekazi’s” ignorance even more vibrantly.

buffering juju is stuffed to the brim with imaginative left-turns and unconventional approaches to South African folk, and combined with Duma’s equally inventive storytelling, the term “future folk” couldn’t be more apt. Just as how honeyguides take off in flight, so do Duma and Becker glide on the strength of such confident debut.

Highly recommended for fresh air.