Fantasma: Free Love review – astonishing South African fusion collective

Last year, musician Spoek Mathambo and film-maker Lebo Rasethaba explored the myriad forms of South African music in the feature-length documentary The Future Sounds of Mzansi. Now Mathambo is taking his own music in genuinely astonishing directions with Fantasma, a collective including producer DJ Spoko, associated with Pretoria’s “bacardi house” scene and the DJ Mujava hit Township Funk; guitarist André Geldenhuys; multi-instrumentalist Bhekisenzo Cele; and drummer Michael Buchanan. Together they’ve plundered a breathtaking variety of styles. Higher Power, for example, fuses elements of hip-hop, electronica, southern soul and psych-rock; while Peaking marries vintage synths to hi-life guitars and breakbeats. While each track is boldly experimental, Free Love never feels like an academic exercise – it’s playful, infectious Afro-pop, in love with music in all its forms. Breaking down musical and cultural barriers has a special resonance in South Africa, making Fantasma’s triumph all the richer.