On September 14th, Multi Grammy Award and Emmy winning Soweto Gospel Choir will release its highly anticipated sixth Shanachie Entertainment recording Freedom, a riveting collection of freedom songs from South Africa and beyond, marking the Centennial of Nelson Mandela’s birth. The depth and the scope of the music on Freedom speaks to Soweto Gospel Choir’s extraordinary range and ability to make it uniquely its own with the exhilarating and joyous fashion they have come to be celebrated for. It is fitting that this new recording falls on Nelson Mandela’s Centennial. Soweto Gospel Choir Music Director Diniloxolo Ndlakuse shares, “The significance of Nelson Mandela’s 100th commemoration to South Africans is, firstly and foremost a reminder of the role played by Nelson Mandela in moving South Africa from a position of being an undemocratic, oppressive society to one of a peaceful co-existence for all racial groups. Mandela represents love, peace, forgiveness and strength to the choir. He is a symbol of inspiration to the Choir.”
Soweto Gospel Choir sings in six of South Africa’s eleven official languages on Freedom but mostly in Zulu or Sotho, as well as English. The first single “Umbombela” which means “train song,” a composition that speaks of the travails experienced by black South Africans during the apartheid era, when migrant workers were forced to travel long distances away from their families in order to meet the harsh economic and political demands made by the government. Watch the official music video for the song HERE.
The critically acclaimed Choir known for their inspirational, moving live performances, kicks off a Blockbuster 50+ cities North American Tour on October 4th in Santa Barbara, CA and wraps on December 19th in West Palm Beach, FL. The full list of tour dates below. For more information and tickets visit: http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/tour-dates-usa/
Soweto Gospel Choir’s universal message of love, unity and hope, along with its captivating melodic and harmonic wonder, mesmerizing showmanship and awe-inspiring performances, has made believers of millions of fans around the world. Since the Choir emerged on the global music scene in 2002, it has received the kind of accolades most groups only dream of. The acclaimed South African World Music sensation has earned two Grammy Awards, scored two #1 Billboard World Music Chart albums and has earned the distinction as the only South African music act to ever perform at the Oscars. The Choir’s effortless, divine talent and beauty has afforded the opportunity to collaborate with such notable artists as Bono and U2, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Aretha Franklin, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder & Kirk Franklin among others. Not many artists can count as their supporters the likes of the late Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu (the official patron of the Choir) and the current President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa who wrote a note of appreciation included in the album.
