Mandla Mlangeni
I was raised in Soweto, Johannesburg and am a young vibrant graduate of music composition from the University of Cape Town. I have toured internationally currently at the helm of three different bands the Tune Recreation Committee (TRC), Amandla Freedom Ensemble(AFE) and the Native Groove Collective(NGC)mainly as a composer/arranger, bandleader and trumpeter. I have performed with the likes of Hugh Masekela, Louis Moholo, Steve Dyer, Susana Baca (Peru), Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse and many more.
My original music can be described as “combing church music with American post-bop and the bounding interwoven cycles of Eastern Cape music”, but I am not averse to experimenting with pop, rock, big band, salsa, Balkan beats and even R&B.
I am an adept musician in many styles of music and believe I can contribute immensely to the music scene in South Africa and beyond. I envisage my music integrated into the very fabric of contemporary music culture.