Global InformationShaka Bundu information
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| Shaka Bundu | ||||
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| Studio album by Penny Penny | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Studio | Shandel Studios, Johannesburg | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 41:58 | |||
| Language | Xitsonga | |||
| Label | Shandel Music | |||
| Producer | Joe Shirmani | |||
| Penny Penny chronology | ||||
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Shaka Bundu is the debut album by South African musician Penny Penny released in 1994. Penny was discovered in a Johannesburg recording studio by producer Joe Shirimani, who was impressed by Penny's unique vocal style. Shirimani's record label Shandel Music enjoyed the demos he produced for Penny, and let the pair record an album together. Recorded over the space of one week using an Atari computer, Korg M1 synthesiser and reel-to-reel tape, the album blends the Tsonga disco style of music with American house music, reflecting the popularity of American and British electronic dance music in South Africa. It has been credited for pioneering a new style of Tsonga disco with its fusion of slow house rhythms, synthesised steel drums and Penny's modern vocal style atop traditional call-and-response female backing vocals.
Released on cassette by Shandel Music, Shaka Bundu was a success in South Africa, selling over 250,000 copies in the country and being certified double platinum. Its success was surprising, given that its lyrics are in the obscure Xish Angana variation of the Tsonga language. The album established Penny Penny as a pop star and also helped improve opinion on Xitsonga music among Tsonga people, as well as establishing Shirimani as a noted producer. Though Penny fell into obscurity in the 2000s, American record label Awesome Tapes From Africa re-released the album worldwide in 2013, which gave Penny a renewed popularity. He began playing live again and recording new music as a result of the success of the re-release.