Hugh Masekela and the Siparia Deltones Steel Orchestra release new single ahead of upcoming album

Hugh Masekela and the Siparia Deltones Steel Orchestra. Picture: Supplied

Hugh Masekela and the Siparia Deltones Steel Orchestra. Picture: Supplied

Published Jan 25, 2023

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On Friday, Hugh Masekela’s new single titled “The Meeting Place - Amapiano Version”, alongside Machel Montano and Siparia Deltones, was released posthumously.

“The Meeting Place - Amapiano Version”, which was released exactly five years after his death, is the lead single to the late great’s forthcoming album, “Siparia to Soweto”.

According to a press release shared with IOL Entertainment, the album is set to highlight Bra Hugh’s great love of travel, musical adventure, and collaboration.

The album is set to be released on April 4, which would have been Bra Hugh’s 84th birthday.

“Between 2012 & 2016 Bra Hugh travelled regularly to Trinidad where he became entranced by the Calypso rhythms of this beautiful Caribbean island and the lilting sound of the local steel pan orchestras,” read the release.

“Soon after meeting local band leader Akinola Sennon of the Siparia Deltones Orchestra, they embarked on a musical journey - linking Siparia, the Trinidadian port town where the Deltones are based, to Soweto,” it read.

Now, roughly seven years since this music was recorded, “Siparia to Soweto” is set to see the light of day.

The song is notably the creation of ace composer Carlton “Zanda” Alexander, the Deltones’ director/arranger Akinola Sennon, Trinidad’s King of Soca Machel Montano with a sprinkling of Bra Hugh’s distinct flavour.

The Siparia Deltones are set to play “The Meeting Place” as their entry in the 2023 Panorama Medium Conventional Band competition.

The release added: “This Ampiano remix is the modern South African sound that has taken the world by storm, this release is the first chapter of a rich story that will be told in the coming weeks”.