Trains to Taung

A native of Cape Town, Hanmer said thoughts of identity influenced the creation of the album. He used marabi chords because "they are very simple, age-old blocks...a basic format for so much music that has come out of this country...in a way that, say, twelve-bar blues has become a format for so much music that comes out of America...the 12/8 groove—how slow it was—reminded me of a train. I thought of a train going back in time, to that place that marks how ancient is the African human heritage: Taung...the place where the Khoisan made the ancient elements of music, and the place where marabi came about is probably one and the same...it's an imagined space and time."[1] He recorded the album with Louis Mhlanga and Jethro Shasha, both from Zimbabwe.[2]

1. "Meeting of the Women" – 5:07
2. "Consciencelessness" – 7:12
3. "Prop Hat" – 9:00
4. "Umhlangano" – 5:31
5. "Chef's Groove" – 9:20
6. "Trains to Taung" – 11:25
7. "Tempo Di Bhutto" – 4:55
8. "Slow Samba" – 8:07
9. "Meeting of the Women" (Reprise) – 9:04

• Paul Hanmer – piano
• Louis Mhlanga – electric guitar
• Denis Lalouette – bass guitar
• André Abrahamse – fretless bass
• Jethro Shasha – drums
• Neill Ettridge – drums
• Basi Mahlasela – percussion