L8 Antique have been winning converts on the Johannesburg circuit since the mid-2000s.
Usually performing with just four people on stage, the group’s rhythm section wove such tight polyrhythms that it gave the feel of a larger ensemble. This sound blended well with the soulful approach of former lead singer Phumla Siyobi, who was an iconic presence. With the emergence of a new lead vocalist, Itumeleng ‘Manyanga’ Mothomoholo, the band has reorientated itself. Manyanga’s style is elemental, drawing from Balobedu cosmology, with lyrics subsumed by melodies and chants that sound channelled. While the group’s original cross-rhythms remain, in this, the group’s debut, they sit within a more dramatic sound, featuring brass choruses,…