This fall, I’ve found myself returning to kwaNTU in the early mornings, before the day fully feels awake. Madala Kunene and Sibusile Xaba’s guitars would greet me like old friends sharing a language I almost understood, something that felt less like conversation and more like communion. The album exists in that rare space where mentorship becomes collaboration, where a decade of learning between teacher and student becomes audible as a single, sustained breath.
What makes kwaNTU so essential is how it refuses easy categorization. This is Zulu guitar music reaching back to its heartwood, yes, but it’s also two musicians building outward from that foundation, creating something that honors lineage while speaking directly to right now. Recorded in a single night after five days of sequestered rehearsal in Zululand, what emerged is meditative, luminous, and alive with the kind of deep listening that only comes from profound mutual respect. I talked with Madala and Sibusile about their connection, passing down knowledge, and arriving at this beautiful moment where kwaNTU became real.
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I’ve been living with kwaNTU for weeks now, and there’s something about the way your guitars speak to each other that feels like overhearing a conversation in a language I almost understand. What was it like for you both, those five days in Utrecht before the recording night? What were you discovering about each other’s playing that you hadn’t known before?
Sibusile: The five days of the incubation period were amazing. It was really special to spend time with Madala and immerse myself in his extraordinary guitar playing. His unique style of playing is sadly underrated, so to work on this body of work with him is such a beautiful opportunity across these five days.
Madala: It was exceptionally amazing. We didn’t lack anything due to being accommodated well. We were enjoying our rehearsals and our time together as musicians. We were staying in a peaceful place that allowed us to be free and safe in creating music at any time of the day.
You’ve spoken about that moment when Kunene’s music first appeared on your timeline, that immediate deep connection. Looking back now, after a decade of learning from him, what was it in that sound that called to you? And has your understanding of what you heard changed?
Sibusile: For me, it was the knowing of self, the pride in ourselves, our culture, our continent, our country. Bafo is extremely proud of who he is, his distinctive guitar playing, and his celebration of Zulu culture and traditions. The guitar just echoes in self-love, knowledge, and a return to our true selves.
Madala, Sibusile describes you as powerful in showing the way. I’m curious about what you saw in him when he first came to visit you in Durban. What made you want to take him on as a student?
Madala: That time when Sibusile first visited me in Durban was actually not the first time I had seen him. In 2008, we were both playing at the Freedom Station (a live music venue in Johannesburg). He was playing solo, and I was playing with Gontse Makhene and Thebe Repela. I liked how he played his guitar. I followed by asking him to visit me in Durban when he gets a chance. In 2010, he came to Durban, and I taught him what I call the “Madalaline tuning,” which he grasped easily, and he still plays with that tune till today, and that made him a good student to me.
The album was recorded in one take over a single night. I love knowing that, but I’m also trying to imagine what that night felt like. Were there moments of doubt, or did those five days of preparation create a kind of trust that carried you through?
Sibusile: When you go into a recording, there is always that moment when your heart beats quicker and the nerves kick in – but that moment is always short-lived as the music simply takes over. The synergy between Madala, Gontse (Percussion), and me is aligned from our hearts, our minds, and we trusted the alignment of the energies. The night floated by – as one moment we were starting to record and the next moment we were listening back to the recording, trusting the moment and the energy in creating something beautiful.
Madala: Everything became easier because we rehearsed for 5 days straight, and it helped us to record in one take. We worked with a professional engineer, and that made everything easier for us to avoid any doubts.
Madala, you’ve been playing and performing for decades before your first recording in 1990. What was it like, having all that experience and knowledge, and then finally getting to document it? And now, passing that knowledge to someone like Sibusile, does it feel different than those years of performing?
Madala: I felt very important because I was working with the big musicians from the groups Sakhile and Bayethe, the Giants. The music that came out from that record was solid and amazing, which made me feel overwhelmed. That record was produced by Sipho Gumede.
There’s something beautiful and rare about an album that’s explicitly about mentorship, about the passing of knowledge. Sibusile, what’s the most important thing Kunene has taught you that has nothing to do with technique? And Madala, what have you learned from teaching Sibusile?
Sibusile: Madala has continually taught me humanity, humility, humanity, humility…. You must always be aware that everything that happens is just a test of sorts to see if you are ready for the next level. Trust your talent, ground yourself in humility, and take pride in your work, your life, your family. The spiritual realm allows you to focus on your heart, your mind, and your own growth, and not to focus on the material things in life. Never let negative vibes or energy prevent you from being humble and full of love.
Madala: This is very exciting and fulfilling, passing through my knowledge to a person who is so passionate about music and who also understands traditional music. He has his own style of playing his guitar, which sounds amazing. Teaching him the “Madalaline” tune was so fulfilling since it also led to him creating a song. That humbled my soul.
The album includes Gontse Makhene on percussion and backing vocals, Fakazile on vocals, and later overdubs of strings and bamboo flutes. How do you know when a piece needs another voice, another texture? What told you this music wanted those additional sounds?
Sibusile: After listening to the recording, I just had this intuition that I could distinctly hear my friends adding to the sound. It wasn’t particular voices or instruments but the energy and persona that these musicians carry, which I knew would add sonic textures that would contribute amazingly to the record. It was just intuition and deep listening, a different kind of ear.
Madala: As a musician, you feel it inside you because you know the additional sounds will have a positive impact on the music.
Sibusile, you recorded at Kwantu Village, and you’ve explained kwaNTU as the place of this living energy, this force that all beings carry. Did recording there, in that specific place in Zululand, affect the music? Did the location shape what came out?
Sibusile: It definitely did. These lands carry so much history, so much culture, and divine memory. When we step on this ground, there is a deep connection that takes place, an interaction with the soul and the mind that happens. The space definitely shaped the music, when we were recording there were so many different energies, the spirits of the land, the indigenous people of this land who are no longer but it was like we invoked their stories, so we had a clear message and narrative to record something beautiful, what an honour it was to reconnect to our ancestors and record in an unconventional way.
The album feels deeply rooted in a specific tradition and place, but it also feels like it’s reaching outward, building on the past to speak to the present. How do you balance those things? Honoring what came before while also saying something new?
Sibusile: We are total Sankofa, sankofa – the motion of looking forward to go back, this motion of reflecting and knowing our past, our culture, this motion of acknowledging and understanding our past, so we can have the knowledge of how best to live in the present and the future. Your present actions determine the future. In our culture, we are taught in our customs as children that we must consult and indulge with our past, we must know and celebrate our culture. It is as simple and as consistent as the sun rising.
Madala: My music doesn’t have a past or present; this is an all-time music that never dies because it doesn’t come in seasons. It’s always there and it speaks to everyone, regardless of age. I also discovered that Sibusile and I have similar traits in music.
Sibusile mentioned that before music, there is sound. Madala, I’d love to hear your thoughts on that. When you pick up the guitar, are you thinking about the sound first, or does the music and the sound arrive together?
Madala: That’s correct, I second what Sibusile had mentioned because before music is made, there’s always a solid beat with rhythm, melodies, and lyrics before all is merged together into music.
Ten years is a long time to study with someone, to absorb their knowledge and approach. But kwaNTU is your first recorded project together. Why now? What made this the right moment to document this relationship, this shared musical space you’ve created?
Sibusile: We call it divine timing, divine timing, different kinds of time. This motion again of being in the moment, and allowing the moment to unfurl itself or present itself to you, and when it does, you simply just flow with that. This project all fell effortlessly together, getting the right labels and the right team behind this record to make an intergenerational record together that we are extremely proud of. It wasn’t pre-planned over the years; it was an alignment of the now.
Madala: We felt that that was the right time to document our creations since the past years we’ve been doing our own things separately. We were also lucky enough to have a place like KwaNtu Village that provided us with a recording space and the best accommodation, and we salute Mr Qalo Gabela, who is the owner and founder of KwaNtu Village.
I always close with the same question… What are some of your favorite sounds in the world?
Sibusile: The sounds of the water, the ocean, or a river, the sounds of the birds chirping in a forest, and the sounds of the air when high up in the mountains.
Madala: My favorite sounds in the world were my late father, Themba Bantu Kunene’s sounds, because he was the inspiration behind who I am today.
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