Durban - The award-winning maskandi duo David “Qadasi” Jenkins and Maqhinga Radebe are heading to Germany on tour later this month.
The tour will kick off on June 24 and the two expect to perform in 14 events.
The duo’s music is a fusion of maskandi (traditional Zulu) and western music.
Speaking to the “Independent On Saturday”, Maqhinga said they looked forward to the tour because their audiences always show great interest when they are in Germany.
“The support we receive in Europe is really amazing. Our music has captured the hearts of many music lovers and we thank the late Johnny Clegg who paved the way for us. He created a huge fan base in Germany and the type of music we compose is now beginning to get popular to Europeans.
“Seeing our fans trying to sing and dancing along to our music humbles us. We usually get a one-month visa when we go on tours, but this year it looks like we are going to be invading Germany because the embassy approved 12 months for our visa application,” said Maqhinga.
Among the cities the two musicians will visit are Hermannsburg, Bielefeld, Bad Bevensen, Bremen and Frankfurt, to name a few.
Qadasi met Maqhinga in 2010 when he was looking for a concertina tuner.
On the same day, they went into the studio and did a jam session together.
The two then joined forces and scooped a Sama award for best traditional album in 2020.
Qadasi is an accomplished maskandi guitarist, concertina, banjo player and vocalist.
He developed a deep passion for Zulu at a very young age.
He released his first album in 2010 under record label Sande Entertainment, headed by the leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sibongiseni Shabalala.
His second album was released in 2014 and was nominated for a Sama award and South African Traditional Music Award.
Maqhinga launched his career in the ’90s after being given an opportunity to tour with the multi-award-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
In 1998 he formed a group, Shabalala Rhythm, together with the two sons of Joseph Shabalala, the late Ladysmith Black Mambazo founder, Sibongiseni and Thamisanqa Shabalala.
Maqhinga has received numerous awards for his musical skills.
The Independent on Saturday