Spencer’s opening track from his ABGT350 set is finally, finally out.
And we thought the day would never come… yet here we are! Deep & Progressive prodigy Spencer Brown has teamed up with Wilt Claybourne and, you’d better believe this one, 5-time GRAMMY-winner musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, for a frankly jaw-dropping rendition of their 1973 track ‘Awu Wemadoda‘.
Almost half a century after its original release, the amazing vocals of the group saw a boom in a niche they may have never imagined possible: our beloved Electronic Dance Music scene. Spencer and Wilt created a bootleg of the original ‘Awu Wemadoda’ back in 2019, a few weeks prior to Above & Beyond‘s yearly festival Group Therapy. Since Spencer was a part of the lineup, he decided to spice things up, as he explains in the video below:
What started as a bootleg ended as official as it could get: LBM loved the song so much they decided not to allow it as a remix but as a whole collaboration. And here we are, four years from its world premiere, able to say “this song is out today“. Must feel like a dream to Spencer and Wilt, because it truly, wholeheartedly, feels like so to us listeners and followers of their art.
Awu Wemadoda
Its place on the album
You might be familiar with the news that Spencer is releasing an album pretty soon. Well, we’re pleased to announce that we hit a bullseye on that last article! Read this quote pulled from the album announcement:
“Finally, the opening track is hidden completely, giving the illusion it could be a new alias/band of which Spencer is a part. Maybe, just maybe, it is his ABGT300 opening track, his and Wilt Claybourne’s remix for Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s ‘Awu Wemadoda’. There’s even an “a” at the very end of the line hiding the name. Please, make it happen!“
-Felipe, from EDMTunes
THEY MADE IT HAPPEN. And we’re so happy that’s the case. Now we get to enjoy this beautiful piece of music. Forever. Oh, and, fun fact, this is, indeed the opening track of Spencer’s Equanimity, which will feature a handful of collaborations and originals.
The song
‘Awu Wemadoda’ starts with Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s haunting original vocals, as clean as they come, completely undisturbed. After the 0:42 mark, the beat comes into play, and it’s everything you’d expect from a duo like Spencer and Wilt: beautiful, peaceful beats and sounds which can do nothing more than complement the vocals. The guys truly do an incredible job.
If you are still reading, and are not yet driven away by the singing, the break coming is beautiful, and it truly is an ode to the 2018-2020 Spencer sound. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong in this track other than its duration: we could listen to it for hours on end!
In the end, ‘Awu Wemadoda’ is as beautiful as the day we heard it for the very first time in Prague. In fact, the song has changed very little, for which we’re eternally thankful. Big hugs, guys.
Listen to Spencer Brown, Wilt Claybourne & Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s ‘Awu Wemadoda’ below for your Spotify play. Alternatively, click here to support the song any other way you’d like. But whatever you decide to do, give it a listen NOW!