Earth songs

There's an electric moment of anticipation just before The Soil take to the stage. Amongst the total darkness, the audience hears a creaky door opening then closing; some shuffling of feet and clearing of throats; and then the lights come up as the heavenly sounds begin.

The next hour is euphoric. This acapella group from South Africa have a sleepy Sunday crowd in raptures with their melodic blend of Afro-soul, hip hop, doo-wop and beat-boxing. Buhlebendalo Mda, known as Buhle, and Ntsika Fana Ngxanga provide the soaring melodies over the exquisite rhythms of Master P, their resident beat-boxer. And no matter what their subject matter—from a painfully honest account of a break-up in 'New Year's Resolution' to their infectiously cheerful anthem, 'Joy'—The Soil have a blissful authenticity that makes them instantly endearing.

Two days later, refreshed after their only day off this festival, they arrive at Assembly Checkpoint for our interview looking like they've just stepped out of a fashion magazine. At the performance seen by Fest, Buhle effortlessly carries off a black harem jumpsuit and a red blazer; today, she's in a checked suit and oversize bow-tie. Ntsika looks dapper in navy trousers and a jacket with an arresting purple lining; and Master P punctuates his slick outfit with a dazzling floral tie.

"We sing Kasi soul music," explains Master P. "You need to look decent doing that, you can't just wear jeans." 'Kasi', they say, literally means "the ghetto", and 'Kasi soul' is simply music from the neighbourhood. In The Soil's case, the neighbourhood is Soweto—an area of Johannesburg made famous by the 1976 Soweto Uprising—where all three of its members grew up and went to school together (Ntsika and Master P are brothers).

"It's a beautiful place to grow up in," Buhle says. "There's so many things that are happening, especially when it comes to art. If you say to people you're from Soweto, they already have expectations of you because it's the root of real talent."

Their Edinburgh show is part of Assembly's South African Season, now in its second year, and the group has so far been playing to small but enthusiastic crowds. But at home, The Soil are big news: they recently played to an audience of 38,000 at a music festival in South Africa, won a South African Traditional Music Achievement (SATMA) Award, and have collaborated with several acclaimed South African musicians, including former Fringe regulars, the Soweto Gospel Choir. They're starting to make waves abroad too, selling out New York's Apollo Theatre earlier this year, but this is their first trip to the UK.

As Ntsika explains, they're not too phased: "If you're true to your art, it'll resonate with people anywhere in the world. This is what's happening now. It really humbles us to know that when we sing in the street, people will still gather around us; that we can build from having two people in the audience to close to 60."

The crowds might be relatively small but they're certainly enthusiastic. After their gig, strangers in the audience smile at each other as they leave, commenting on how good the group are. Outside, The Soil are surrounded by gushing new fans clamouring to buy their self-titled debut album (it's also available to buy on iTunes and to listen to on Spotify).

Part of The Soil's appeal lies in their eclectic inspirations: as well as lauded South African artists like trumpeter Hugh Masekela, Grammy-winning 'Mama Africa', Miriam Makeba, and Afro-pop princess Brenda Fassie, their contemporary influences range from hip hop and soul singers like Gill Scott to kwaito (an African-influenced genre of house music), rock, pop and jazz. It's a diverse mix that strongly invokes the history of Sophiatown, a multi-ethnic area of Johannesburg that flourished artistically in the 1940s and 1950s, until it was demolished in 1955 as apartheid-era segregation was enforced. It was from this thriving cultural hub that artists like Masekela and Makeba arose.

"It's like if we had been born years ago, we would have been stars of Sophiatown," Buhle laughs. "And by default, we inherit its culture, it's embedded in our souls. Even when we grew up, our ears were forced to listen to that music at home. When we had parties, we would play those songs."

Buhle, Master P and Ntsika are all in their mid-20s, and though one of their songs is inspired by Sophiatown and another, 'Asante Sana Tanzania', by the help given to South Africans by Tanzania during apartheid, they don't deliberately set out to write songs about the country's troubled history, though they don't avoid them either.

"I think music has always been a healing mechanism," says Ntsika. "We don't sit down and write these songs, they come to us. All we have to do is just sleep and when we get that song and it makes sense to us, like they always do, it's hard for us to discard it, no matter what it talks about. But it's about the standpoint from which you engage: are you doing this to destroy or are you doing it to heal people? We are doing it to heal people, we are doing it to make sure that they know where we come from. That's exactly how we think about ourselves: as vessels that talk about everything that's intended to heal, whether it's politics, love, faith and everything else."

This sort of spirituality suffuses The Soil's music. As they declare at the start of their show, they consider "The Creator of All" to be the first member of their group. They exude a serenity that quickly spreads around their audience, though there is one thing that has drawn objections: the fact that their venue is seated.

"People are complaining about that," Master P laughs. "If it were up to them, there would not be seats. They would rather stand from the first song to the last."

"But it's actually quite nice to get people to listen," Buhle adds. "Because as much as our music is fun, sometimes you need to listen. We call it the meditation of the soul and it really has to do that. In order for us to touch your soul, you have to be in a clear mind and focus on the music – and then we get up and we dance. But if people want to get up on the first song, that's still cool."