Incwadi Yothando (2000)

" In preparation for this album, Jasper Van't Hof travelled around KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, meeting many musicians and dancers, and finally chancing across the young Phikelela Sakhula Choir at a rehearsal in a derelict theatre in Durban. Those six men and four women were the ones he chose as collaborators for Pili-Pili's next recording project. The vocals of the Phikelela Sakhula ("We are young, but we are growing") Choir were recorded in Durban, and cleverly integrated by the Pili-Pili rhythm section to create something unique and impressive. The songs mix solo and choir singing and strong, danceable melodies with Jasper Van't Hof's characteristic keyboard improvisations and some prominent brass and guitar parts.Like all Pili-Pili recordings, these songs are very accessible for Western listeners, but at the same time this album has a distinctly African sound, even more so than the band's earlier work. A musical experiment which I think has worked very well." (Anja Beinroth)