![]() Paul Simon had to navigate a political minefield when he traveled to South Africa. When they emerged from these sessions with the distinctive sound Simon was after, it set the stage for the rest of his trip, where he worked with other African groups and met some of the musicians who would accompany him on the Graceland world tour. It was kind of all over the place and needed to be edited," Simon said of these initial sessions. The African group was used to recording quickly, but Simon did take after take, rolling tape continuously. Despite their vast cultural and musical differences, Motloheloa and Simon were able to create the tracks for this song, but it took a while. ![]() Motloheloa is from an area called Lesotho, which is about 350 miles from Johannesburg, and he doesn't speak English. When Simon arrived at Ovation Studios in Johannesburg, he started recording with the group, reworking their song. The group leader and songwriter was Forere Motloheloa, who played the piano accordion, which is an accordion with piano keys on one side (in 1989, it became the official musical instrument for the city of San Francisco). ![]() Simon immersed himself in the music of South Africa before his trip, and came across a song by a Sotho group called Tau Ea Matsekha that he wanted to record. This was the opening track on Paul Simon's landmark Graceland album, and the first song he worked on when he went to South Africa in 1985 to record with musicians from the townships.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |