Mothers

Township Sessions is a collection of remixes to benefit Philani, a community health project in Cape Town’s squatter communities. The Philani Mothers formed a choir in 1986 and recorded a cassette of songs concerning proper health and nutrition. That cassette is the basis for these reinterpretations. The remixes range from good to excellent, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: the comp’s immaculate pacing flatters the individual tracks. Kid Loco brings a mid-tempo break floating on ultra deep bass line changes that follows the vocals’ Xhosa cadences. Layo and Bushwacka lean hard on the flanger while draping vocal samples over a mix of intense African drum patterns. South Africa’s Kalahari Surfers bring mutant Kwaito to the mix, bending it into an unusual time signature. Other notable mixes include the always-deep dub of Manasseh and an odd and compelling beat collage by Charlie May and the album’s producer, Peter Raeburn. Township Sessions is a well executed concept with plenty of "Southern” soul.