Pure Gold (3)

Disco funk band from South Africa Formed by lead singer Freddy Gala and his brothers and cousins in 1973, Pure Gold are a gospel choir of the independent Old Apostolic Church in that vaunted tradition, but "Onward Christian Soldiers" never sounded like this. Their vocals echo age-old African styles of arrangement and performance such as powerful mbube melodies, four part harmonies wich swoop and shimmer, and call-and-response, that most African of singing forms. They sing both European influenced hymns and Freddy's own sweetly accessible compositions sung in the African languages Zulu and Sotho. (From liner notes 1991)