A unique musical blend of tradition and modernity

In an ambience of melodious tones, South Africa's Pop Mohamed and his group enthralled the audience as they unleashed their instrumentals in their unique form of music at the Al-Yarmouk Theater on Sunday. The event was organized by the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in partnership with Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah.

Born in Benoni east of Johannesburg in South Africa, Pops Mohamed is said by many to be South Africa's 'unofficial minister of music'. In the 1990s, he began recording the 'Music of the San' from the Kalahari in Namibia and integrating it into various projects ranging from jazz and funk to drum 'n' bass and trance. Pops Mohamed works as a producer/performer and lives in Johannesburg.

He loves experimenting with the newest technology, always in the service of music. Pops owes his artistic openness to his childhood to the Indian in Benoni. His nickname Pops dates back to his childhood enthusiasm for the comic seaman Popeye. At the age of 14, he founded his own first band 'The Les Valiants', with whom he played kwela, soul, pop and Latin music. With his band 'Children's Society' (early 70s) he then recorded his first hit in the townships: 'I'm a married Man'. In the 80s Pops worked more backstage as a producer and sound-engineer, while also learning to play the mbira and other African indigenous instruments.

In 1991 and 1992 he produced for the South African market the solo albums Kalamazoo, and Sophiatown Society, both nominated for the Best Jazz Album Award. In 1995 he issued his international debut album 'Ancestral Healing', recorded in New York with New York musicians like the native American vibraphonist and percussionist Valerie Naranjo and Emma and also with musicians from South Africa. Pops himself played the piano, the Kora, the mbira and various percussion instruments. This album won the 3rd annual FNB SAMA Award for Best Traditional Performance.

Before turning to traditional sounds, he played the keyboards and guitar with eminent jazz musicians live and in the studio. The end of apartheid was for many of his colleagues a personal relief and a professional setback, since the public then rushed to hear pop-stars streaming in from abroad instead of their own musicians. Pops Mohamed countered it by launching himself on an international career which has since led to many tours.

At the same time he took more interest in traditional music from all over the world. Fearing that it would vanish in the wake of techno, he wished to have it not only recorded but also suffused with modern sounds and rhythms to appeal to a wider audience. As he put it: 'If people don´t understand where they come from, there is a hole in their soul.'

Pops & Friends

Pops has his own personal band simply called 'Pops Mohamed & Friends'. This band has been together for 10 years. They have travelled in and out of South Africa - making a name for themselves wherever they go. His vision with the band is to concentrate on a future South African sound which no-one has ever heard before, while also protecting and preserving African indigenous musical instruments for the 21st century. Pops Mohamed & Friends are a five piece outfit featuring: Pops Mohamed on African indigenous instruments, vocals and keyboards; Femi Koya on all saxophones and flute; Maxwell Baloyi on keyboards and acoustic piano; Gally Ngoveni on bass and vocals and BerniceBoikanyo on drums.

His other baby project as a quartet is called 'The Millennium Experience.' Apart from composing music for his CDs etc, Pops scored the music for a movie 'The Whale Caller' which was filmed in Hermanus. 'The Whale Caller' won an award for best African movie at the Johannesburg Film Festival. With the spearhead of the underground sounds of the 21st century, Pops still loves to blend and experiment traditional music with electronic instruments for the dance floor and other spiritual platforms. One looks forward to this unusual musician's new projects! Some of the countries Pops toured spread his message and still continue to do so are; US, UK, all the Scandinavian countries, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Germany, Switzerland, Nepal, Vietnam and now Kuwait.

By Chidi Emmanuel