Kabantu is a quintet from Manchester featuring strings, guitar, vocals and percussion, who create new marriages of music from around the globe, to celebrate the space where different cultures meet. Vocal harmonies from South Africa combine with everything from Celtic reels to Brazilian samba and beyond.
‘Kabantu’ means "of the people" - stemming from the South African philosophy of Ubuntu - "I am what I am because of who we all are". This is autonomous music bridging countries and cultures to defy genre and embrace the sheer joy in music from all around the world. The band’s highlights so far include performing at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, BBC Radio 3 In Tune and an array of prestigious festivals and venues across the UK. In 2018 Kabantu released their debut album "Of the People" to critical acclaim, and this year looks extremely varied and busy as Kabantu will collaborate creatively with the BBC Singers, tour England and Wales with Welsh orchestra Sinfonia Cymru, and also feature as guest artists in Yolanda Brown’s brand-new show for CBeebies.
They are proud to be supported by the Hattori and PRS Foundations, and are also delighted to be Folk Alliance International Official Artists 2019. Kabantu performed at the Orkney Folk Festival last year and by all accounts, went down a storm so we look forward to inviting them slightly further north this year!
utterly brilliant
Georgia Mann, BBC Proms
first-rate musicians and when all five are playing full tilt it is really exhilarating…a very worthwhile and different approach
fRoots magazine
immaculate five-part harmonies… a rousing display of fine musicianship
The Guardian
audacious, in-yer-face eclecticism…a global experimentalism that is both breath-taking and very refreshing
Songlines Magazine
Find out more at kabantu.com.
Find them on Facebook, X, Instagram, SoundCloud and YouTube.
