John Wizards

2013 release from the South African band. John Wizards might have started in Maputo. It also might have started in Cape Town. It certainly owes a debt to Dar es Salaam. These are the three places that band leader and producer John Withers either travelled through or lived in, and he feels have had a marked influence on his musical output. They also happen to be cities in which Emmanuel Nzaramba, John Wizards' Rwandan singer has lived too. The duo has since grown into a band and recorded an album that gently but persuasively gets under your skin on the strength of it's lovely melodies and strong, smart arrangements. It is a brilliant combination of traditional African music, R&B and chamber pop, filtered through gentle electronic arrangements that cross-pollinate with South African house, Shangaan Electro and dub, and it's the sort of music that effortlessly captivates with it's beauty and richness.