Press Article

2004 Feb   "Concord gets out of the closet"
Publication: www.musicanchor.com
Byline: Mofihli Teleki

It feels like yesterday when I met Concord Nkabinde about a year ago while playing at the Bassline. Since then he had promised the music community a solo album. The time has past and the album is now out.
Upon my arrival for the interview at Nuno’s restaurant in Melville, Johannesburg, amongst a large number of patrons, Nkabinde is not hard to find nor is he difficult to recognize. He is quite familiar to many people who pay attention to performances of the likes of Hugh Masekela, Johnny Clegg, Ray Phiri and Abdullah Ibrahim, to mention a few. Having performed alongside some South African Jazz greats Nkabinde has proven to be a seasoned musician.

Nkabinde’s foundation in music is common anecdote of many musicians who have flourished. “Like most musicians I started playing music in church as a guitarist. After a while I started looking for a sound that is more ‘macho’, so I tried the bass guitar. I have been playing bass since 1985.” He remembers his early music performances where he played with gospel groups that produced a cross between the conventional gospel and jazz-fusion. Those years paid off as he perused other music genres and it is through this journey that Nkabinde realized his musical traits. Before Nkabinde left high school, he already knew that he was destined for great things (musically). Instead of pursuing studies in Architecture at tertiary level (as was his dream), he decided to study towards a B. Mus degree with specialization in Jazz Studies. He asserts “Your intention as an up-coming musician is always crucial if you are a student at varsity or self-training. So my time at varsity I will never regret. It opened my mind to a lot of musical cultures of the world, although, I have learnt more from self-taught musicians that I came across.”

After spending four years at the University of Natal, Durban, the Soweto-born musician decided to come back home to Jo’burg where he taught music at FUBA Music School and Funda Arts Centre in Soweto. Naturally, Nkabinde experienced the crave to play for audiences, so he decided to follow a career as a recording and traveling artist. Since then Nkabinde has traveled and played in France, Spain, USA, and all Nordic countries. It has now been several years with a musical life that has brought growth and learning. He explains “Most musicians want to document their own ideas and it’s always a touchy issue because I believe it is not every musician who is cut out to be a solo artist. But the question is how does one find out? When I recorded my album I told myself that I have to be true to myself and decide whether making a solo project was good for me or not.”

Amongst his accolades, Nkabinde has produced work for Joyous Celebration 1 and the late Wendy Mseleku’s album ‘Picking up the pieces’. He has also assisted in the production of many albums in South Africa. Nkabinde is one of the few musicians who have been able to cross the boundaries and pursue other musical genres such as Pop and Rock… “I have played with musicians such as Wendy Oldfield, and that helped me reach a lot of people.”
“There is a common practice amongst Jazz players, whereby an artist becomes self-indulgent and selfishly play for oneself. I have been part of that tradition for a while and I thought that I had to strike a balance” says Nkabinde.

The time, The season reflects Nkabinde’s versatility as a musicians. The one striking aspect about The time, The season is the fact that the entire album borrows the expertise of international musicians such as Efrain Toro(Puerto Rico), Eero Koivistoinen(Finland) and Lili Feng(China). And it is this supple collaboration that gives the album a worldly feel and composure of crossover creed. Other well known musicians who played on the album include Rob Watson, Ernie Smith, Gito Baloi, Louis Mhlanga and Prince Lengoasa, to mention a few. The time, The season clasps eleven enlivening tracks that draw one to an unsoiled feel of adult contemporary music. The title, The time, The season, simply expresses the current musical phase that Nkabinde finds himself in. “It’s a reflection of where I am at the moment. I feel that the opportunity is here right now, meaning that the time is right. At the same time, it’s another season for me to explore my own music.” says Nkabinde.

It has taken approximately four years for the album to be completed, a well-deserved wait for Nkabinde. The time and energy put into the album is self-explanatory. The time, The season is a showcase of some of Nkabinde’s musical influences that he has learnt during the time spent as a travelling musician. While talking to Nkabinde about the production of the album, Nkabinde gets very serious and makes me feel like everything that went into the album was well thought out and planned. The album was produced by Nkabinde himself and released by his own record label, Drocnoc Music.

Copyright Two Cubes Communications 2004 ©