Joe Blog

Akum Agency, First Floor Gallery (Zimbabwe) and Modzi Arts Gallery (Zambia) present Sibusile Xaba & IzangoMa live at Untitled Basement on Friday 5th September 2024

Charismatic and deeply spiritual, Sibusile Xaba is a guitarist, vocalist, and composer who reshapes maskandi and avant-garde music into an intimate, transformative experience. His artistry is not merely performance—it is an invocation, a communion between sound and spirit, where music becomes a vessel for ancestral storytelling.

“This music is extraordinary” – Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio)

“Xaba’s intricately fingerpicked patterns produce emotional warmth and rich texture, and he brings an abundance of heart and complete spirit commitment as he sings, laughs, declaims and weeps over the tracks” – The Wire

IzangoMa, are an ensemble from Pretoria, South Africa, led by vocalist and guitarist Sibusile Xaba and DJ/producer Ash K. Their debut album was released by Brownswood in May 2023, the album in synth/keys lead exploration of Afro- Beat, Afro-Jazz, Afro-Funk, Future-Jazz and Psychedelia, expect high energy and percussive drum palettes, free echoing vocal chants, and lyrical layering of horns, music to dance our way against the disintegration and loneliness that modern life reproduces.

“A hard-spinning mix of soulful vocals, abstract synth melodies laid over thumping electro grooves, lushly orchestrated horns and vocals, and so, so , so much percussion" - Stereogum

“A truly remarkable pan-genre feast of unwieldy creativity” - Clash

Show info: Doors open at 18H00

Expect two sets of approximately 45-50 minutes each with a 15minute interval. Plus DJs

Pre-sale at 250 and then R300 at the door. Tickets are unreserved. For table/booth reservations, pre-show dinner and drinks (bottle service, etc.) email bookings@artivist.co.za or book online: https://forms.gle/grkacCKchZsSbXDd9

Presented by Akum Agency, First Floor Gallery (Zimbabwe) and Modzi Arts Gallery (Zambia) as part of Art Joburg 2025.