To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the EFF officially released its fifth album and held an intimate listening session at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
Titled Jazz Hour Volume 5, the album features 25 songs by various artists including Ringo Madlingozi, Pleasure Tsa Manyalo, Nelisiwe Sibiya, RHYMA, Big Zulu, Bontle Smith and Myztro.
Explaining the sound of the album, EFF member of parliament Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said although the essence of the music still commemorated the jazz genre reminiscent of the music that was played in the Umkhonto weSizwe camps during the Struggle, the first part of the album is more commercial to adapt to today’s climate.
“We have two sides to the album. The first side more commercial and comprises of genres such as amapiano, afrobeats, gospel and bacardi while the second side is igwijo (folk music sung in a capella style and used in Struggle songs). We’ve tried to tap into the different genres that are dominating, not only to mobilise our people behind the banner of the EFF but to raise the consciousness through music,” he said.
Explaining the link between the Struggle and music, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu said: “The music which has been produced excellently in this album by economic freedom fighters in collaboration with prominent artists is important because it shows the symbiotic and close relationship between the arts and the revolution. So, we always seek to illustrate that, through this album or our stage play titled Leruo by our own comrade Fana Mokoena.”
Speaking to Sowetan, rising amapiano DJ, Myztro revealed why he agreed to be part of the EFF’s project.
“Although I’m not affiliated to any political party, I thought it was important to share the barcadi sound with a different audience outside of Pretoria so that everyone can enjoy it. I also enjoy music and being part of such a project allowed me to do music and to bring in upcoming artists together to push a new sound,” he said.
On selecting artists for the album, EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the party was focused on creating an album that speaks to many young people.
“In order for us to respond to the consciousness of not only our members but of society as a whole, we had to bring in different genres and artists from different parts of the country so the music could speak to everyone. That’s how we selected our artists in the album.”
The album is not available from streaming platforms but can be downloaded on the EFF’s website for free.
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