Kalamazoo is Sipho Gumede and Pops Mohamed. Sipho Gumede was born in Cato Manor, Durban. His earliest musical memory is of playing guitar and pennywhistle. The guitar was homemade: a 5 gallon tin, wood and fish gut. He and his friends would play the tunes of Spokes Mashiyane, Zakes Nkosi and Lemmy...
Learn More »
Kalamazoo is Sipho Gumede and Pops Mohamed.
Sipho Gumede was born in Cato Manor, Durban. His earliest musical memory is of playing guitar and pennywhistle. The guitar was homemade: a 5 gallon tin, wood and fish gut. He and his friends would play the tunes of Spokes Mashiyane, Zakes Nkosi and Lemmy "Special" Mabaso... The life-story of Sipho Gumede is a long and elaborate one. He has worked with too many musical icons and legends to list, and as a bass guitarist and composer extraordinaire, he was a pioneering force as an individual on the South African musical and jazz scenes.
Pops Mohamed was born in South Africa, and raised in the small town of Benoni on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Pops was initiated into the worlds of both traditional music and jazz music, by his visits to Dorkay House, where from a young age he was exposed to giants like Kippie Moeketsi and Abdullah Ibrahim. At the age of 14 he formed his first group 'The Valiants', playing Kwela, Soul, Pop and Latin music. Pops is a well travelled multi-instrumentalist, who has taken it upon himself to keep traditional sounds - from mbqanga to kwela and marabi - alive. He specialises in indigenous insruments ; the Kora, the Mbira, the Didgeridoo, and the Birimbau and the African Mouth Bow.
« Hide Description