- We know a few things about Eddie Magwaza, the man who composed and arranged the 1990 V.O. record Mashisa. We know he was a talented musician working in Johannesburg before the end of Apartheid, and he went by the nickname Sister Monica. Magwaza was still a teenager when Mashisa, which he made with band members Victor and Oupa, plus studio partners Lucky Matante and Jan Smit, was released. The LP arrived at a time when bubblegum, a disco-tinged take on pop that was big in South Africa during the 1980s, was giving way to kwaito, a tougher, housier sound that emerged in the country's townships during the '90s. The music was made to accompany the moves of pantsula, an energetic, politically-charged dance style that was popular with black South Africans. We also know the reason Magwaza only made one record with the V.O. project: he was shot and killed shortly after Mashisa was released.
The record flopped, with very few copies sold upon initial release. But a couple of decades on, Mashisa was unearthed by Invisible City (Brandon Hocura and Gary Abugan), who seem genetically predisposed to sniffing out great tunes. They rightly picked out "Mashisa (Dub Mix)" as the record's key track. Its various parts—a whistling synth, bassline, snare fills, some keys, and occasional vocals—skip with pure joy. Mashisa has now been reissued on Hocura and Abugan's record label, Invisible City Editions, with the original LP's six tracks trimmed to four. Though "Mashisa (Dub Mix)" remains the best tune here, the other three are by no means filler. "She's My Lady"'s keys are forlorn yet its lyrics are sweet. "Malunde" has one of those catchy, half-shouted choruses heard on many Italo classics. The original version of "Mashisa" sounds novel to anyone who's grown accustomed to the dub, with the signature hook a tamer presence.
We live in a time when the information surrounding reissues can be seductive, which sometimes begs the question: is it the music that captivates us, or the mystique that comes with it? The story of Mashisa is undeniably compelling, but when I heard Young Marco play "Mashisa (Dub)" two years ago, I didn't even know what the track was called—I only knew I wanted to hear it again and again.
TracklistA1 She's My Lady
A2 Mashisa
B1 Mashisa (Dub Mix)
B2 Malunde