South African visionaries Shane Cooper and Cara Stacey unite on “Mbuluzi / the flute song,” a mesmerising single that bridges traditional instrumentation with experimental production. Stacey, an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and researcher, leads with the Umtshingo—a traditional end-blown flute—while Cooper, a New Wave bassist, guitarist, composer and producer, handles the intricate sequencing, production, and 1/4″ tape manipulation.
The track is a stunning remaster of the third movement of “STATIC”, one of two tape collages from Cooper’s lockdown album, Happenstance, that was commissioned by The Centre For The Less Good Idea, and which saw Cooper capture improvisations on vintage reel-to-reel tape, then fracturing and reassembling them into something entirely new. The results are engagingly surreal, bringing weightless, tiny ecosystems of sound into sharp focus.
Blending Stacey’s lush musicality with Cooper’s dreamy new age textures, “Mbuluzi” is a dizzying fusion of jazz-schooled virtuosity and electronic experimentation; essential listening.