Joseph Shabala floats out a phrase halfway between a shudder and a sigh. Three or four other singers answer it, eventually turning their response into an ongoing chant. Shabala weaves in and out of their pattern, others answer him, and yet another member punctuates the skein of gently harmonizing voices with grunts, clicks, or shouts. Resolve into peaceful silence. Repeat with variations 11 more times and you have the indescribably sumptuous iscathaya as practiced by Ladysmith Black Mambazo on this 1984 recording. The untranslated Zulu lyrics mull over tribal proverbs and Christian hopes. A big plus is the presence of founding member Headman Shabala, who was killed by a policeman in 1991. --Richard Gehr